A former mining project manager has been ordered to pay a hefty fine, or face time in prison, after he pleaded guilty to one corruption charge in connection with an R80 million tender.
According to Hawks spokesperson Colonel Philani Nkwalase, Wade Ashton Leaf, 57, was fined R100 000 or five years in prison in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday.
"Half of the sentence was suspended for five years with conditions," Nkwalase added.
He said the unit investigated an R80 million tender Sibanye-Stillwater issued between October 2020 and September 2022 for remedial work on a tailings dam in Rustenburg in the North West.
"After submissions were made, the tender bid evaluation and adjudication committee noticed that the tender bid information for the two bidders was identical.
"A preliminary investigation was conducted, and a case was opened and transferred to the Germiston-based Hawks' Serious Corruption Investigation team for further exploration," said Nkwalase.
The Hawks probe uncovered that Leaf, the former project manager of Fraser Alexander Pty (Ltd), colluded with a competitor by leaking his employer's tender bid information in exchange for a subcontract.
The competitor withdrew from the bid after the investigation commenced and Leaf was arrested.
He was released on R10 000 bail on 23 August 2022 and appeared in court several times until he pleaded guilty.