Richard Spoor, the Bobroffs’ lawyer in SA, has blamed a ‘posturing incompetent’ NPA and opportunistic Israeli authorities for financial problems Ronald and Darren Bobroff are now experiencing as fugitives from justice in Australia. 

In a lengthy interview with Moneyweb, he said the Bobroffs are ‘broke’ and suffered a huge injustice, which he labelled as ‘manifestly unjust and unfair’.

Spoor opened up after the news of Darren Bobroff’s secret settlement with Israeli authorities to avoid criminal prosecution for money laundering.

This agreement saw Israeli authorities seizing R70m of the R95m they froze back in 2017, while the Bobroffs were allowed to retain the balance.

‘They’ve lost everything they built up in SA. He’s done so much, was such a well-regarded successful attorney and is now finding himself as ostracised from his own community, isolated, alone, and enduring significant hardship. It’s very bad. It’s very ugly. It’s very unhappy,’ Spoor is quoted as saying.

Spoor made it clear that the Bobroffs are not happy with the Israeli settlement agreement, notes the Moneyweb report.

He labelled the agreement as ‘extortion’ and said Darren Bobroff only signed the agreement to stay out of jail. He blamed a ‘stupid and incompetent’ NPA for putting the Israelis in a position to extort the money.

‘NPA engaged with the Israeli authorities and said it wanted the money back. The Israelis saw this as a golden opportunity to grab the money for themselves … The Israelis said (to the Bobroffs):

"We’re going to apply for the extradition of Darren Bobroff. We’re going to have him arrested, held pending extradition. Then we are going to extradite him to Israel, and we are going to hold him here in custody until the trial is over – unless you agree to forfeit this money to us, in which event we’ll leave you alone.”

… It’s extortion. It’s disgraceful behaviour,’ said Spoor.

‘It’s a farce, frankly. The South Africans (NPA) lost their money because they were stupid and incompetent in the way they dealt with the matter.’

The Bobroffs have also indicated that they are taking the settlement on review in Israel, notes Moneyweb.

Advocate Suna de Villiers, from the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit, acknowledged that the news of the settlement was ‘devastating’ but said discussions with the Israeli authorities were ongoing.

De Villiers does not believe the Israelis were opportunistic.

‘My impression was never that the Israelis were opportunistic. I thought that their case was very well researched. I do know that they did come to SA to sort out certain issues, and I do believe that the case that they presented there was strong and based on evidence in their possession. I think the mere fact that Mr Bobroff was willing to reach a deal to keep himself out of jail shows what kind of evidence the Israelis have … The evidence speaks for itself and the SCA confirms that.’

Moneyweb says it has been informed that the secret settlement may escalate to a diplomatic spat between the two countries, although it has not been referred to the Department of International Relations & Co-operation.

The report also notes that NPA did not respond to questions as to why it has not been able to produce a charge sheet since the Bobroffs fled in 2016.

However, the NPA referred Moneyweb to a previous statement in which spokesperson Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga said the NPA had almost completed a forensic report and was finalising a prosecution decision.

Mhaga also said an extradition application may follow.

Full Moneyweb report