A 56-year-old great-granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, who was an accused in a six-million rand fraud and forgery case, has been sentenced to seven years in jail by a Durban courtroom. Ashish Lata Ramgobin was discovered responsible by the courtroom on Monday.
She was accused of defrauding businessman SR Maharaj after he superior R6.2 million to her for allegedly clearing import and Customs duties for a non-existent consignment from India. He was promised a share of income. Lata Ramgobin, who’s the daughter of famous rights activists Ela Gandhi and late Mewa Ramgobind, was additionally refused depart to enchantment each the conviction and the sentence by the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court. When trial in the case towards Lata Ramgobin began in 2015, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had mentioned that she allegedly supplied cast invoices and paperwork to persuade potential buyers that three containers of linen had been being shipped in from India.
At that point, Lata Ramgobin was launched on a bail of 50,000 rand. On Monday, the courtroom in the course of the listening to was knowledgeable that Lata Ramgobin had met Maharaj, director of the New Africa Alliance Footwear Distributors, in August 2015. The firm imports and manufactures and sells clothes, linen and footwear.
Maharaj’s firm additionally gives finance to different firms on a profit-share foundation.Lata Ramgobin had instructed Maharaj that she had imported three containers of linen for the South African Hospital Group NetCare.
“She mentioned she was experiencing monetary difficulties to pay for import prices and customs and she or he wanted the cash to clear the products on the harbour, NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara mentioned on Monday. “She suggested him (Maharaj) that she wanted R6.2 million. To persuade him, she confirmed him what she claimed was a signed buy order for the products. Later that month, she despatched him what appeared to be a NetCare bill and supply notice as proof that the products had been delivered and fee was imminent,” she said. Lata Ramgobin further sent him confirmation from NetCare’s bank account that payment had been made, Kara said.
Because of Ramgobin’s family credentials and NetCare documents, Maharaj had entered into a written agreement with her for the loan. However, after Maharaj found out that the documents were forged and NetCare had no arrangements with Lata Ramgobin, he laid criminal charges.
Ramgobin was founder and executive director of the Participative Development Initiative at the NGO International Centre for Non-Violence, where she described herself as an activist with focus on environmental, societal and political interests. A number of other descendants of Mahatma Gandhi are human rights activists and among them are Lata Ramgobin’s cousins Kirti Menon, the late Satish Dhupelia, and Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie.
Ramgobin’s mother Ela Gandhi in particular has been internationally recognised for her efforts, including national honours from both India and South Africa.
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