A near-new 2022 Ferrari SF90 Stradale with just 357km on the clock, bought for R11.1 million by controversial businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela, is officially going under the hammer on Friday after his desperate last-minute legal bid to block the sale was thrown out of court.
The gleaming supercar—which sits at the centre of the alleged R2 billion looting of Tembisa Hospital—will go up for online auction on Friday, 6 November, after the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria dismissed an urgent application by Maumela to halt the auction.
Bidding on the prized vehicle will open at R8 million at 08:00 on Friday, 6 November, via the online auction platform Bidders Choice, and is scheduled to close on Wednesday, 11 November, at 11:00.
How the bidding and sale will work
While the opening bid is set at R8 million with bidding increments of R25,000, bargain hunters hoping to walk away with the supercar for a song will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets.
On 13 August, Judge Bernard Ngoepe granted a Special Tribunal order authorising a court-appointed manager, known as a curator and appointed by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), to sell the vehicle for no less than R9.5 million. Because the tribunal’s order sets an official floor price of R9.5 million, the car cannot legally be sold for a cent less than that amount.
Once the hammer falls, the money from the sale will be placed into an interest-bearing trust account until all civil legal proceedings are finalised. The Special Tribunal also noted that the proceeds from the Ferrari sale may be used, with the SIU’s approval, to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of other seized assets currently under the curator’s control.
According to court documents, the Ferrari was originally purchased in April 2022 for about R11.1 million. Since its seizure, two separate valuations have placed its current market value at R10.2 million and R10.165 million, respectively. Even before the online auction was set up, two firm offers were made to buy the vehicle: one for R10 million on 1 July, and another for R10,999,995 on 27 July.
Under the bonnet of the 735 kW beast
For supercar buyers with millions to spare, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale is widely believed to be among the most powerful road cars the Italian automaker has ever built. It is a plug-in hybrid supercar powered by a massive 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine paired with three electric motors, producing a staggering combined output of 735 kW.
According to the official auction listing, the vehicle has a full service history and is in “runner” condition, meaning it is operational and starts up, though it may require some mechanical attention.
The car is being sold strictly as is. The auctioneer’s terms clearly state that items must be viewed in person before bidding and warn prospective buyers that invoices will not be cancelled after the auction if a bidder fails to inspect the asset beforehand. An official viewing is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 10 November, from 09:00 to 15:00.
Failed legal battles to save the supercar
Maumela, who is described by the SIU as the mastermind of one of three syndicates that allegedly looted Tembisa Hospital, fought tooth and nail alongside the Maumela family trust to keep the Ferrari out of the auctioneer’s hands.
Their earlier attempt to stop the sale was dismissed by the Special Tribunal in October after the tribunal found that Maumela and his family trust had failed to show they would suffer irreparable harm if the auction went ahead. The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ultimately ruled against Maumela as well, clearing the final legal hurdle for Friday’s sale to proceed.
Whistleblower Babita Deokaran and the R326 million asset seizure
The Ferrari is just one piece of a massive R326 million web of luxury assets linked to Maumela that have been permanently forfeited to the State following a final forfeiture order granted by the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit in July.
The investigation into Maumela’s empire stems from the massive graft flagged by Gauteng Department of Health whistleblower Babita Deokaran in the weeks leading up to her brutal assassination in August 2021 outside her Johannesburg home. Deokaran had bravely blown the whistle on hundreds of millions of rands in suspicious payments leaving Tembisa Hospital before hitmen gunned her down. Subsequent investigations into the hospital’s finances uncovered alleged corruption totalling R2 billion, with Maumela implicated as a central figure who used strings of companies to siphon money meant for public healthcare.
In recent weeks, Maumela has also launched a separate legal bid to overturn the July final forfeiture order in an effort to win back his seized properties and vehicles, while the National Prosecuting Authority has moved swiftly to oppose his application and defend the State’s seizure of the loot.
Three blue Lamborghinis, mansions and a party boat
According to the SIU, Maumela splurged R60 million on seven luxury cars alone, allegedly using money looted from Tembisa Hospital.
Alongside the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, the eye-watering list of assets permanently forfeited to the State includes:
* A luxury mansion in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, valued at R88.57 million
* Two neighbouring properties in Sandhurst, Sandton, worth a combined R141.41 million
* Up-market homes in Pecanwood Estate in Hartbeespoort and Zimbali in Ballito
* Luxury apartments in Three Anchor Bay in Cape Town
* Three Lamborghinis—all painted in the exact same shade of blue
According to the SIU’s interim report, the full list of motor vehicles and marine craft preserved by authorities includes a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, a Lamborghini Huracan STO, a Lamborghini Aventador Ultimate Coupe, a Lamborghini Urus, a Bentley Continental GT V8, an Isuzu D-Max, a multipurpose trailer, and a Regency 250 LE party boat.