Alleged perlemoen poaching kingpin Julian Brown had his bid for a reduction of his R800,000 bail to pay his legal fees dismissed in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Friday.
Brown approached the court in November to ask for the reduction of his bail, citing – among other reasons – the need to pay his attorney Alwyn Griebenow and advocate Terry Price SC.
Judge Mandela Makaula said it was inconceivable for an accused’s bail to be reduced in order to settle legal fees.
“This [settling legal fees] can not be a reason for a reduction [of bail],” Makaula said.
During arguments in the application Price, instructed by Griebenow, said Brown had handed over the bail receipt to Griebenow as security to pay legal fees and that the money therefore belonged to them and not Brown.
Price also said he needed Brown to settle his fees so that he (Price) could settle his outstanding taxes.
At the time the application was heard, Price told the court he personally owed the taxman R800,000 but later said the amount owed was in the region of R400,000.
Makaula said Price’s claim that he owed Sars money was not a valid reason to reduce Brown’s bail and that he, Price, should not allow his personal interests to influence the interests of his client
Makaula found that only after sentencing would bail money, held by the state, be returned to the accused or the depositor of the funds and that neither Price nor Griebenow was entitled to it.
Price had submitted to the court examples of cases in which bail had been reduced, including a matter heard in a KwaZulu-Natal court where the accused’s bail was reduced from R500,000 to R25,000.
Price further cited a recent case heard in a Kimberley court, which Griebenow was part of, where the judge had ordered a reduction in bail money to allow for the payment of legal fees, but Makaula said neither of the orders was relevant to Brown’s case.
Citing various sections of the Criminal Procedure Act, Makaula said there was no clear provision for reducing bail once it had been set, but there were provisions for amending bail conditions.
“[Brown] does not seek to amend his bail conditions, but merely wants his bail to be reduced. Bail may not be reduced,” Makaula said.
Brown was arrested in 2016 and released on R800,000 bail by the magistrate’s court.
Within two days, Brown had raised the amount and was released from custody.
Price argued that Brown had borrowed money from friends and family to pay the bail and had since paid the money back but had to take up further loans to run his construction business.
Makaula found that Brown was a person with means and that he was not entitled to the reduction.
Price, in his heads of argument, said that if Brown’s application was dismissed he and Griebenow would not be able to continue representing him and would be forced to withdraw from the case.
According to Price, Brown does not qualify for Legal Aid assistance because of his financial standing.
It was not clear if Price or Griebenow would withdraw prior to Brown’s sentencing on February 5 after Makaula delivered his judgment.
Brown, 32, along with Eugene “Bosman” Victor, 33, and Brandon Turner, 38, had already been waiting nearly three months for the outcome of the case against them when Makaula said in September that he was not yet ready to deliver his judgment.
The matter was postponed to November, but at the eleventh hour Makaula again said he was not ready and after apologising to all the parties involved said he would hand down judgment on February 5.
The trio face a string of charges, including the illegal poaching of perlemoen, racketeering and money laundering.
All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Turner has been out on bail, while Victor was arrested after failing to appear in court for the trial and has been in custody since.
Victor’s application for bail was also dismissed on Friday after Makaula found that there was no concrete evidence he would observe bail conditions.