11 October 2026 · Reporting checked against the primary and independent sources below.
The judgment
The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has convicted two former company directors and three Gupta-linked mining companies of fraud and money laundering in a case involving R107.5 million intended for mine rehabilitation. The verdict was delivered on Friday, 9 October 2026, and reported by prosecutors and multiple South African newsrooms.
Ronica Ragavan and Pushpaveni Ugeshni Govender were convicted alongside Optimum Coal Mine, Koornfontein Mines and Tegeta Exploration and Resources. Former mineral resources deputy director-general Maleatlana Joel Raphela was acquitted of all charges. The distinction matters: the ruling establishes guilt for those convicted, not for everyone originally accused.
Money set aside for damaged land
Mine rehabilitation trusts are intended to protect money needed to repair environmental harm caused by extraction. The prosecution centred on transactions made in 2016, after Tegeta acquired Optimum and Koornfontein from Glencore. The court considered R7.5 million moved out of the Optimum rehabilitation trust and R100 million associated with a loan secured against the Koornfontein trust.
In the Optimum transaction, the court found that funds were moved out of the trust and used as part of payments to a mining contractor rather than being retained in the protected account. In the Koornfontein transaction, the court found that money released through a loan facility was channelled to contractors and other companies rather than used for the specified rehabilitation work. The case was not simply about a paperwork irregularity: it concerned the availability of money earmarked for environmental obligations.
What happens next
Judge Mudunwazi Makamu postponed sentencing to 1 December 2026. Bail for Ragavan and Govender was extended until the matter is finalised. The convictions are a major court outcome, but no sentence has yet been imposed.
National Director of Public Prosecutions Andy Mothibi welcomed the result, stressing that rehabilitation funds protect communities from bearing the long-term costs of mining. The outcome is also a reminder that corporate structures and bank transfers do not remove the legal restrictions attached to environmental trusts. Any appeals or subsequent proceedings would need to be reported as further developments, not assumed in advance.
