R9.5m Ferrari linked to Thembisa Hospital corruption case cleared for sale

A Ferrari SF90 Stradale worth an estimated R9.5 million, seized as part of a sprawling corruption investigation into alleged looting at Gauteng’s Thembisa Hospital, has been cleared for sale after a family trust lost its bid to block the transaction in the Pretoria High Court.

The supercar is tied to businessman Hangwani Maumela, a central figure in the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) probe into an alleged R2 billion corruption scheme involving the hospital. The vehicle was frozen last year under a Special Tribunal preservation order aimed at stopping suspects from dissipating assets allegedly linked to the looting while the main case plays out.

Court dismisses trust’s urgent bid

Acting judge SG Maritz threw out an urgent application brought by the MHR Maumela Family Trust, which had tried to halt the sale of the Ferrari. The judge found that the trust had offered a confusing and contradictory account of who actually owned the car, and had not shown any legal basis to stop the curator from proceeding with the sale.

According to the ruling, at least five different versions of ownership emerged during the proceedings. The trust claimed ownership before the tribunal, while Maumela separately argued the SIU itself had confirmed under oath that he owned the vehicle. Drive Time Auto CC was listed as the registered owner when the car was frozen, but the Maumela camp then claimed the company had lent the trust R7.8 million against the vehicle — a claim Drive Time reportedly denied on three separate occasions.

Adding to the tangle, a third company, More Concerts (Pty) Ltd, was shown to have paid an R11.1 million balance toward the purchase price directly to the dealership involved. Court papers also noted that Maumela had allegedly told police the transfer of the Ferrari into the trust’s name was fraudulent — a claim the trust did not dispute.

“Its deponent attributed ownership to the trust and to himself, told the police that the trust’s registration was fraudulent, told the tribunal that the vehicle was registered in another’s name as security, and suggested that yet another entity paid the price,” Maritz said in his judgment. “The applicant has not attempted to reconcile these versions.”

Sale already in motion

The Ferrari forms part of a broader basket of luxury vehicles preserved under a Special Tribunal order granted in September 2025. In August this year, the tribunal authorised curator Jacobus Gideon Louw van Wyk to sell the car for no less than R9.5 million, with proceeds to be held in an interest-bearing trust account pending the outcome of the main corruption case.

Van Wyk had argued that holding onto the vehicle was proving costly, with insurance and storage fees running at roughly R100,000 a year and R5,000 a month respectively, plus a further R408,000 required just to reinstate the car’s warranty. A buyer, Scuderia South Africa, agreed to purchase the Ferrari for R9.6 million on August 18, but the deal was put on hold a day later when the trust lodged an appeal.

The trust argued that lodging an appeal automatically suspended the sale order. Maritz disagreed, ruling that the order was interim in nature and simply regulated how the preserved assets were managed — meaning the appeal did not freeze the sale process. He further found the appeal had no reasonable prospect of success, and that the trust would suffer no real harm since the sale proceeds would continue earning interest in a secure account.

“Selling a valuable, preserved asset pending an appeal is not out of the ordinary,” the judge noted, rejecting arguments that exceptional circumstances existed to justify delaying the transaction.

SIU welcomes ruling

In a statement issued on Monday, the SIU described the judgment as an important win for its asset-preservation powers. “This judgment is a significant affirmation of the preservation and civil recovery mechanisms available to the SIU through the Special Tribunal to prevent the dissipation of assets that are the subject of corruption investigations and related civil proceedings,” the unit said.

The SIU confirmed it has also referred evidence of possible criminal conduct uncovered during its investigation to the National Prosecuting Authority. The trustees of the MHR Maumela Family Trust were ordered to pay the costs of the failed application, although the court declined a request for punitive costs or for the trustees to be held personally liable.

Source: R9.5m Ferrari linked to Hangwani Maumela could be sold after court ruling — IOL