Deputy President fined for not declaring diamond from controversial Louis Liebenberg

Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests recommended that Deputy President Paul Mashatile be fined R10,000 for failing to declare a diamond from Louis Liebenberg.

In a statement from the committee, it said that on top of the fine, the Parliament should reprimand the Deputy President for his failure to declare the gift to his wife in the confidential part of his financial and registrable interests register.

Liebenberg is an associate of former South African president Jacob Zuma, who has called him “the definition of loyalty.” Liebenberg was arrested in 2024 and is accused of operating an over R4-billion diamond Ponzi scheme.

He denies stealing R4.5-billion from investors, as the State alleges.

The committee, through the Office of the Registrar, received a complaint against the Mashatile from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in March 2025 for an alleged breach of the Code of Ethical Conduct and Members’ Interests.

It requires all Members of Parliament to disclose gifts received by their immediate family in the confidential part of the register.

Mashatile said that he did not disclose the diamond from the fraud-accused because he was “waiting for the appraisal of the diamond to determine its value before a declaration was made.”

He added that he has since surrendered the gift to the National Prosecuting Authority.

However, the committee contended that ethical behaviour required that the gift be declared, with the value disclosed at a later stage.

“The disclosure process not only facilitates public trust in Parliament but also enhances its credibility,” said co-chairpersons of the committee  Lusizo Makhubela and Henni Britz.

What else are you hiding, asks the DA

DA Chief Whip George Michalakis, who laid the complaint, said that the party welcomes the move by the committee but added that “the ethics report raises more questions than answers.”

“It is worrying that the Deputy President is so careless in his failure to disclose his assets as required,” said Michalakis.

The DA will submit Parliamentary questions on gifts received by the Deputy President and his wife from Liebenberg, including the value, legality, and origin of a diamond.

They will also probe any reciprocal gifts, and the nature of the relationship that led to an alleged November 2023 visit to the Deputy President’s home.

This finding follows a recent News24 report that the Deputy President declared a R28.9 million Constantia home in Cape Town after years of denial.

The house, which boasts 7.5 bathrooms, a cottage, wine cellar, and cinema, was not declared by Mashatile last year despite being purchased within the previous declaration period.

“These failures give rise to serious concerns as to why the Deputy President continuously fails to declare assets transparently and ethically, as well as what other assets the Deputy President holds that have not yet been declared,” said Michalakis.

“South Africans deserve transparency from their Deputy President, remunerated with public money, about the assets he acquires by virtue of the office he holds,” he added.