Martin Wanden’s six-bedroom home with sweeping sea views at Llandudno, Cape Town, is to be auctioned after being seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit.Wanden is on trial in the Cork Circuit Criminal Court after being arrested in July last year — while bobbing in the sea, off the Irish coast, along with bales of cocaine worth R1-billion. The drug bust set off an international probe, involving authorities in SA, who investigated alleged money laundering, and the US, UK and Spain. authorities hope the luxury home, which boasts a spa-bath, a wraparound terrace with a pool, four-car garage and views of the coast, will fetch around R14-million.
An inflatable boat and a black Range Rover — reportedly given to the builder of the house by Wanden’s wife, Sonya (who was found hanged this year in a psychiatric hospital in Britain) when she tried to dispose of their assets.
Wanden has denied being the driver of the boat that capsized with the drugs about 48km off the west Cork coast.Wanden told the Cork Circuit Criminal Court that he had been camping when he received a call from a friend, Charles Goldie, who claimed to be experiencing difficulty while fishing at sea. Wanden claimed an argument broke out between him and Goldie when one of three men transferred drugs onto the boat he took to rescue them. He said he was pushed into the capsized boat and left stranded at sea with the drugs.Jonathan Smiedt, of ClareMart Auction Group who will be auctioning the mansion, said they had received five offers for the house — four of them local.The AFU’s Hermione Cronje said this was the second case the unit had helped a foreign government wrap up. The first case was a request from the Nigerian government involving a politician, Diepreye Alamiyeseigha, who was embroiled in a money-laundering scandal in 2006.
“This sends out a message to criminals trying to hide the proceeds of their crimes that South Africa is not a haven for them,” said Cronje.
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