Stefan Joel Govindraju was granted R200,000 bail after the NPA said it would not oppose his release because he had cooperated with investigators.
A businessman accused in the Tembisa Hospital procurement investigation has been granted bail of R200,000 by the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Stefan Joel Govindraju, 37, appeared in court on Monday after the Hawks arrested him at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday when he returned to South Africa from overseas.
The National Prosecuting Authority did not oppose bail. NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told reporters that Govindraju had cooperated with investigators since 2023 and that the state had no reason to seek his continued detention.
In his bail application, Govindraju argued that he was not a flight risk, pointing to his family, business and financial ties to South Africa. He also told the court that he had returned voluntarily despite knowing about the investigation.
The Hawks allege that service providers colluded with Gauteng health officials to manipulate procurement at Tembisa Hospital. Investigators allege that requests for quotations were split into amounts below the former R500,000 threshold to avoid formal tender procedures.
The wider investigation includes allegations of fraud, corruption, forgery, contraventions of the Public Finance Management Act and money laundering.
Govindraju has not been convicted. The allegations will have to be proved in court.
The case is part of a broader investigation into procurement at Tembisa Hospital that followed concerns raised by former Gauteng health official Babita Deokaran before her murder in August 2021.
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