Tigon-accused Sue Bennett has until Monday to respond to a request from trial Judge Brian Spilg that she put any admissions she is prepared to make on the table. Moneyweb notes that Bennett and Gary Porritt are on trial in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) on more than 3 000 counts of fraud, racketeering and contraventions of the Income Tax Act and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act relating to the collapse of financial services group Tigon.

Porritt was CEO and Bennett a director. They were arrested in 2002 and 2003 respectively, but the trial only started late in 2016 due to numerous applications and appeals the accused brought in an apparent effort to delay proceedings. Porritt and Bennett both represent themselves, claiming they don’t have money for legal representation and the trial has crawled along at a snail's pace since the beginning.

When it resumed yesterday Spilg asked Porritt whether he was ready to respond to the court’s request about admissions. Porritt indicated he would not respond. Bennett said she would consider making admissions, but needed to consult Porritt.

Spilg allowed an adjournment so the two could discuss the matter.

When the trial resumed, Bennett indicated that she needed time to go through the record and would be able to make admissions after the end of April. Spilg refused that and gave her a week to consider what she is prepared to admit to. Spilg said he had asked the state to consider reducing the charges.

Lead prosecutor, Advocate Etienne Coetzee, said the state would see what admissions were being made and consider the testimony of the next witness – forensic expert, Professor Harvey Wainer – to determine what was still in dispute. Only then would the state consider reducing the charges. The case was postponed until 4 February.

Full Moneyweb report