Suliman Carrim, a controversial businessman from the North West and former regional treasurer of the ANC, has been charged with a crime for failing to appear before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Carrim, who is remanded in custody following his first court appearance and where bail proceedings got underway, was arrested by the commission’s Recommendations Task Team while preparing to board a flight to Dubai on Thursday night.
The State said Carrim was arrested with a one-way ticket and with five bags, suggesting he had no intention of returning to the country.
He was taken into custody at OR Tambo International Airport.
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe confirmed that Carrim had been arrested on charges of corruption and fraud.
The arrest came after he repeatedly failed to appear as a witness before the commission.
The State records show Carrim was subpoenaed as a person of interest in November 2025, and while he gave initial testimony in March 2026, he avoided follow-up appearances in April, June and July.
His legal team had requested five separate postponements since April, claiming he was too ill to testify.
However, the commission’s evidence leaders subpoenaed his phone’s geolocation date, which revealed he was moving around Cape Town and visiting restaurants and shops - according to evidence leaders’ submissions he was seen at Woolworths and Kauai - during the exact periods he claimed to be bedridden in a medical facility. Carrim also refused to undergo a voluntary independent medical examination.
Following this refusal, the Madlanga Commission opened criminal charges against Carrim on August 19, 2026.
The commission, which investigates criminality, political interference, and corruption within the criminal justice system, identified the 49-year-old Carrim as a key figure after he was implicated in high-level financial transactions, alleged money laundering, and political-business interference.
Financial records presented by evidence leaders indicate that millions of rand meant for Maumela were routed through Carrim’s business accounts rather than being transferred directly by Matlala. This includes over R42 million paid from Carrim's company to an entity linked to Maumela's network.
Testifying before the commission, Carrim defended the transactions, claiming he believed he was engaging in legitimate business and investments, such as a chrome mining wash plant project. He stated he felt “pressured” by Matlala to pass funds and advance lump sums, such as R500,000, to Maumela because Matlala allegedly owed him money.
Both Matlala and Maumela have been heavily implicated in widespread tender fraud, including a R360 million SAPS contract and a multi-million rand procurement corruption scandal at Tembisa Hospital. Evidence leaders, led by Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC, suspect the complex layer of transactions was designed to conceal the illicit origins of tender funds or circumvent asset preservation orders.
Carrim has denied wrongdoing, calling them lawful transactions.
Carrim appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court for his initial bail application on Friday, where the State requested that he be remanded in custody while bail investigations are completed.
During the proceedings, the member of the Recommendations Task Team told the court that Carrim is a “runaway” witness whose passport had been flagged against travelling outside the country, adding that he only had a one-way ticket.
The member said it was possible that Carrim may evade trial if granted bail because “he knew that the commission had opened charges against him and yet he chose to leave without informing any law enforcement entity”.
It was also revealed that his criminal profile showed previous cases that had since been withdrawn. However, the State noted that officials had not yet physically checked the relevant dockets to establish the exact circumstances surrounding those prior arrests.
His lawyer opposed the State’s request to remand him in custody, citing his stable residential address and 17 years of residence in Mahikeng, North West.
Counsel for Carrim, advocate Hendrik Potgieter, also argued that his client has a heart condition, which resulted in hospitalisation and postponements before the Madlanga Commission.
Carrim dismissed claims that he was trying to flee South Africa permanently, with his legal stance or documentation indicating he held a return ticket for October 28, 2026. He also claimed that he was heading to Saudi Arabia via Dubai to perform a pilgrimage.
“(It is for) spiritual upliftment, and from there I travel to Pakistan to my spiritual guide, where we do humanitarian work," he said, claiming he has been doing this trip for the last 16 years.
He also added that he will address his failure to appear before the Madlanga Commission when he is tried for it.
Carrim provided the court with his residential addresses in Johannesburg and Mmabatho, and the State requested that he remain in custody over the weekend because it had not yet completed the necessary verifications of these addresses. It was also to do a veracity check on the travel arrangements and their return tickets.
The prosecution argued that they required additional time for these address verifications and to look into his criminal record before his bail application could properly proceed.
The matter has been postponed to Monday, October 19, 2026.
Meanwhile, the Madlanga Commission welcomed the arrest, stating that it trusts the arrest will send a strong message to any witness who does not take the commission seriously.
“The commission trusts that Carrim's arrest will send a strong message to any witness who does not take the Commission seriously,” the commission said.
In a statement, the commission said its chairperson, retired Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, announced on August 14, 2026, that criminal charges would be laid against Carrim.
“It is the Commission’s view that Mr Carrim’s conduct constituted one or more offences under the Commission's Act (8 of 1947) and the regulations applicable to the Commission,” the commission said.
It added that Carrim had repeatedly failed to provide information and documentation required under Regulation 10(6).
manyane.manyane@nationalmg.co.za