Durban – KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has taken personal charge of an alleged organised crime investigation into the collapse and liquidation of sugar producer Tongaat Hulett, as mounting financial and legal pressures threaten the company’s future.
According to IOL, Mkhwanazi convened a closed-door meeting at the South African Police Service (SAPS) provincial headquarters in Durban on Friday, bringing together the company’s business rescue practitioners, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), sugarcane growers and representatives of the Zulu Royal Household.
SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that the investigation was active but declined to disclose the complainant’s identity or when the case was opened, citing operational sensitivity.
The investigation comes amid longstanding concerns about Tongaat Hulett’s financial affairs and a protracted business rescue process. A forensic investigation by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the company’s profits had been inflated by approximately R12 billion through accounting irregularities, including the premature recognition of revenue from land sales.
Grower and supplier jobs
Reporting by The Citizen traced the company’s financial crisis to these alleged manipulations, which contributed to a loss of investor confidence, mounting debt and its eventual entry into business rescue in October 2022.
Seven former executives and a former auditor are separately facing fraud charges linked to the accounting scandal, with the alleged fraud amounting to approximately R3.5 billion. According to IOL’s September court report, the case was postponed to March 18, 2027, to allow the State to seek a fresh racketeering certificate.
Meanwhile, the company’s rescue remains contested, with the Vision Group consortium selected as the preferred buyer of its businesses and assets, while rival bidder Terris Sugar challenges the process. The IDC’s funding has been central to keeping operations running while the parties work towards a resolution.
The stakes extend beyond the company itself. Reuters reported in February that approximately 250,000 grower and supplier jobs, alongside thousands of direct jobs, could be affected by the company’s failure.
Tongaat Hulett is also due to be delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on November 3, although the delisting will not itself end the business rescue process.
The latest investigation adds a criminal dimension to a crisis that has already shaken one of South Africa’s most significant sugar producers. Police have not publicly disclosed the specific allegations being investigated, and the new probe should be distinguished from the existing fraud case against the former executives and auditor.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
