The bribery charges against Pinnacle Holding’s executive director Takalani Tshivhase, which earlier this year triggered a sell-off of the company’s stock and an estimated R1,2-billion slashing of its value, have been dropped.
The Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit of the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions this afternoon withdrew all charges against Tshivhase after concluding that there was no basis upon which to pursue the allegations against him.
Tshivhase was arrested in March this year and charged with bribery after allegedly offering a R5-million bribe to a senior police official in order to secure a R180-million tender for hand-held terminals.
Both Tshivase and Pinnacle have strenuously protested his innocence since his arrest.
In a statement, Pinnacle says: “The Company welcomes the decision. The conclusion and decision of the SCCU corroborates the Company’s own investigation into the matter and confirms the Company’s initial statement that from the evidence available to the Company, the Company was satisfied that there was no reason to doubt Mr Tshivhase’s denial of the allegations.
“The Company is very pleased that our unwavering belief in Mr Tshivhase’s innocence, and our ongoing support of him in his quest to clear his name, has been vindicated.”
Tshivase says that he is happy that the matter has finally been resolved.
“It has been a very trying period for me and I wish to thank the Pinnacle Holdings board for the support that they have given me during this time,” Tshivhase says. “I also wish to thank my family, who were directly affected by the events of the past few months, for their support.”
Pinnacle’s share price, which has tumbled dramatically in the past few months, this afternoon started to see some gains and was more than 35% up after news of the charges being dropped was broken.