The East London Regional Court heard yesterday there was a second safety box opened on behalf of multimillionaire businessman EV Krull by Nedbank.
This as the R5.2-million theft trial of former East London Nedbank manager Kevin Kaschula resumed.
The safety box named “26” was registered in Kaschula’s name but paid for by Krull.
This is where 80 gold Krugerrand coins, valued at R1.4-million, were stored inside the bank vault.
The details emerged from Kaschula’s lawyer Hennie Bence while cross-examining the 82-year-old businessman.
Krull, who stood in the witness box, told Bence he was aware that Nedbank had opened another box for him when the coins he had instructed the bank to buy for him lay uncollected.
However, he said he was not aware the box was opened in Kaschula’s name as he had never dealt with him.
“After taking my first medical aid kit box in 1994, I then instructed Andre Muller to purchase 20 coins for me every month.
“I couldn’t go to the bank all the time after that, and Andre would call me to say my coins that I instructed them to purchase were lying around uncollected and it was unsafe.
“I was a very busy businessman then, so the bank decided to open another box in the vault to store the coins,” Krull said, adding he was not given a key.
He said he would from time to time visit the bank with his wife to take out the coins from box “26” to store them in the medical aid kit in box “9B”.
“Kaschula says you would call him from time to time and instruct him to buy coins,” Bence said, to which Krull replied: “Not me. If Kaschula was purchasing the coins I was never told about it.”
Bence then presented a letter from the bank addressed to Krull showing the amounts of coins purchased after March 1994 by the bank on his behalf.
“Your instruction to the bank was that they buy 20 coins every month. Can you please look into this document and explain why no purchases were made in five months,” Bence said. “I don’t know. I was a busy man and this was not my business,” Krull said.
“How were the coins taken, do you know how it was done?” Bence asked, to which Krull replied, “I don’t know”.
It is the state’s case that Krull stored more than 700 Krugerrand coins valued at R12.2-million with Nedbank between 1994 and 1995 and that when he went to collect them in 2015 discovered only 320 coins left.
Kaschula was arrested by members of the Hawks for allegedly stealing the rest. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case was postponed to December 4 for further evidence. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Court told of second box for gold coins
This as the R5.2-million theft trial of former East London Nedbank manager Kevin Kaschula resumed.
The safety box named “26” was registered in Kaschula’s name but paid for by Krull.
This is where 80 gold Krugerrand coins, valued at R1.4-million, were stored inside the bank vault.
The details emerged from Kaschula’s lawyer Hennie Bence while cross-examining the 82-year-old businessman.
Krull, who stood in the witness box, told Bence he was aware that Nedbank had opened another box for him when the coins he had instructed the bank to buy for him lay uncollected.
However, he said he was not aware the box was opened in Kaschula’s name as he had never dealt with him.
“After taking my first medical aid kit box in 1994, I then instructed Andre Muller to purchase 20 coins for me every month.
“I couldn’t go to the bank all the time after that, and Andre would call me to say my coins that I instructed them to purchase were lying around uncollected and it was unsafe.
“I was a very busy businessman then, so the bank decided to open another box in the vault to store the coins,” Krull said, adding he was not given a key.
He said he would from time to time visit the bank with his wife to take out the coins from box “26” to store them in the medical aid kit in box “9B”.
“Kaschula says you would call him from time to time and instruct him to buy coins,” Bence said, to which Krull replied: “Not me. If Kaschula was purchasing the coins I was never told about it.”
Bence then presented a letter from the bank addressed to Krull showing the amounts of coins purchased after March 1994 by the bank on his behalf.
“Your instruction to the bank was that they buy 20 coins every month. Can you please look into this document and explain why no purchases were made in five months,” Bence said. “I don’t know. I was a busy man and this was not my business,” Krull said.
“How were the coins taken, do you know how it was done?” Bence asked, to which Krull replied, “I don’t know”.
It is the state’s case that Krull stored more than 700 Krugerrand coins valued at R12.2-million with Nedbank between 1994 and 1995 and that when he went to collect them in 2015 discovered only 320 coins left.
Kaschula was arrested by members of the Hawks for allegedly stealing the rest. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case was postponed to December 4 for further evidence. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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