Bushiri fights auction of jet bought with suitcase of cash amid fraud probe

When fugitive pastor Shepherd Bushiri bought his new Gulfstream jet in 2015, payment was delayed a day because the Lanseria-based company selling it did not have a machine to count the more than $1.1m (then about R17.7m) in cash he brought to pay for it.

When the controversial leader of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church finally took possession of the aircraft, he reportedly instructed his staff and the company to organise “a lavish handing over ceremony to celebrate and publicise that this aircraft was delivered to him”.

The purchase has since been mired in controversy. Court papers reveal the seller claims it cannot issue an invoice or bill of sale because Bushiri never provided invoicing details.

This has emerged in a legal battle in the Pretoria high court, in which Bushiri claims the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has failed to prove that the luxury jet was bought with the proceeds of crime.

Bushiri is seeking to halt the imminent auction of the jet after the NPA secured an asset forfeiture order to seize it as part of ongoing criminal investigations. He and his wife Mary fled South Africa in 2020 after being granted bail on charges including fraud, rape and money laundering.

South Africa successfully applied for their extradition, but the Malawian high court overturned the order in October.

With al the With all the facts at my disposal, it is

difficult to determine the source from which the money was obtained. It is evident that, in an attempt to explain the origin of the funds, the loan agreement was fabricated

Charles Maritz, police investigator

The case dates back to 2018, when concerns arose that Bushiri had not disclosed the source of funds used to buy the aircraft and had submitted false information to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

In his March 6 submissions, Bushiri maintains that the jet was lawfully acquired through a sale agreement with the National Airways Corporation (NAC) and financed via a US dollar loan from Joint Aviation Resources (JAR).

However, there is no record of such a loan. JAR director Sabine Kruger stated in an affidavit: “I have no knowledge of such an agreement,” adding that neither she nor the company had met Bushiri or conducted business with him. “The receipts shown to me are false, to my knowledge.”

Police investigator Charles Maritz said an inspection of receipts suggested a prima facie breach of exchange control regulations, which require anyone carrying more than $10,000 in foreign currency to declare it to customs.

Maritz alleged that Bushiri had “intentionally and falsely represented to the SARB that the money he used to purchase the aircraft originated from JAR”, calling the transaction money laundering.

“With all the facts at my disposal, it is difficult to determine the source from which the money was obtained. It is evident that, in an attempt to explain the origin of the funds, the loan agreement was fabricated,” he said.

SARB investigator Ebenhaezer Minnie flagged the transaction in 2018, concluding that it breached exchange control regulations. Minnie reportedly could not trace any transactions linked to JAR’s bank account and found no evidence of a loan agreement between the parties.

The aircraft The aircraft was purchased by means of a cash transaction. There is no evidence of fraud in the purchase and financing of the aircraft

Shepherd Bushiri, fugitive pastor

In his court papers, Bushiri argues he complied with all procedures. He signed an NAC document stating the “cash was not obtained through ill-gotten gains”. Further, he states: “The aircraft was purchased by means of a cash transaction. There is no evidence of fraud in the purchase and financing of the aircraft.”

He further contends that the alleged JAR loan agreement cannot be used to imply illegality. “The NPA’s concession that it does not know the source of the money is dispositive of the unsubstantiated money laundering allegation.”

Bushiri also maintains that the NPA does not have jurisdiction to investigate alleged exchange control violations.

Included in the court papers is an affidavit from Shepherd Bushiri Investments COO Milton Owuor, who oversaw the jet purchase. He says he accompanied Bushiri to NAC in November 2015, where Bushiri met privately with NAC executive director Jacobus Fourie. After the meeting, Fourie had no objection to receiving payment in US dollars, as permitted in certain aviation transactions.

Owuor said Bushiri then left him and two other colleagues to deal with the payment.

“The payment was not made because it was too late in the evening and Mr Fourie said there was no counting machine at the office at that time.”

He said they returned the following day and a “currency counting machine” was there.

“The cash was counted, and the figure totalled $1,147,200, which was short of the purchase price of $1.25m. It was agreed by Fourie that the balance would be paid later in South African rand, which was computed at the day’s rate of exchange to R1,444,340.”

Owuor says he did not ask Bushiri about the source of the cash “since it was obvious to me that he regularly gets blessed by congregants from abroad in foreign currency, notably US dollars”.