SIU Special Tribunal Secures Preservation Order Over Properties Linked to Ex-PRASA CEO

Posted 27 July 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Litigation & Asset Recovery

Brought to you by SAnews: In terms of the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, No. 74 of 1996, the Special Tribunal has granted an interim preservation order freezing two high-value residential properties linked to former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) Group Chief Executive Officer, Lucky Montana.

The order follows an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into the procurement of PRASA’s R5.632 billion Integrated Security Access Management System (ISAMS) contract awarded to Siyangena Technologies, a subsidiary of TMM Holdings. Bank records examined by the SIU revealed that funds used to acquire the properties originated from entities within the TMM group and Precise Trade and Invest 02 (Pty) Ltd, rather than Mr Montana’s legitimate income.

Property Transaction Details

The preservation order applies to the following two properties:

  • Hurlingham, Johannesburg property: Purchased for R13.5 million and registered in July 2015.
  • Waterkloof, Pretoria property: Purchased for R2.25 million and registered in 2014.

According to the SIU investigation, financial flows for the acquisitions occurred through structured multi-party transfers:

  • Waterkloof acquisition: On 18 June 2014, Precise Trade and Invest 02 (Pty) Ltd received R1.850 million from ESS (Pty) Ltd (part of the TMM group) and R4 million from TMM Holdings, before transferring R2.25 million to the conveyancing attorneys.
  • Hurlingham acquisition: On 23 March 2015, Precise Trade and Invest 02 (Pty) Ltd transferred R2 million to conveyancing attorneys. On 23 April 2015, following payments from PRASA, Siyangena transferred R13 million to TMM Holdings. TMM Holdings then transferred R12 million to Midtownbrace (Pty) Ltd, which subsequently transferred R11.5 million to the conveyancing attorneys’ trust account.

Tribunal Directives and Deadlines

The Special Tribunal issued the following directives:

  • Main proceedings for civil recovery against Mr Montana must be instituted within 30 days of the order.
  • The respondents are ordered to appear before the Special Tribunal on 11 August 2026 to show cause why the interim preservation order should not be made final.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Legal practitioners and conveyancers handling property transfers must ensure strict compliance with customer due diligence and source-of-funds verification to avoid facilitating transactions involving illicit proceeds.
  • For your business: Accounting, legal, and estate agency practices must maintain robust Anti-Money Laundering (AML) control frameworks and fulfill mandatory suspicious transaction reporting obligations under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, No. 38 of 2001 (FICA).
  • For your clients: Contractors and vendors engaging in public sector procurement face severe asset preservation and civil forfeiture risks under Act No. 74 of 1996 if tender execution or sub-contracting revenues are routed to public officials.

Originally published at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/siu-secures-preservation-order-against-former-prasa-gceo

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