- Russel Paul, 64, handed himself to the Hawks and appeared in the Palm Ridge Special Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday.
- The case involves R1.3-million allegedly used for Jordaan’s personal PR, with all accused denying wrongdoing and planning to plead not guilty.
Former South African Football Association (Safa) acting CEO Russel Paul has officially been added to the high-profile fraud case involving Safa president Danny Jordaan.
Paul, 64, handed himself over to the Hawks on Wednesday morning and appeared in the Special Commercial Crime Court in Palm Ridge. He faces charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.
He was granted bail of R10,000 and is due back in court in November alongside Jordaan, Safa chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo, and businessman Trevor Neethling – the director of Grit Communications, also implicated in the case.
The case centres on R1.3-million allegedly taken from Safa’s coffers for Jordaan’s personal benefit. The State claims the accused used Grit Communications to run Jordaan’s personal PR campaign following rape allegations against him in 2017 by former ANC MP Jennifer Ferguson.
Prosecutors allege the Grit contract was backdated in 2019 and never properly signed in 2018. They also claim Safa funds were used to pay for security at the 2018 elective conference, with Hluyo allegedly aware of the misuse.
Paul has denied any wrongdoing. He told investigators that the contract extension was legitimate and actually saved Safa money.
All the accused plan to plead not guilty.
Paul now works for the Confederation of African Football and Fifa, inspecting stadiums across Africa.
Pictured above: Former Safa acting CEO Russel Paul appears alongside Danny Jordaan.
Image source: @Safa_net
