Severely ill former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi was granted bail on appeal by the South Gauteng High Court on Friday.

The court held that the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit had misdirected itself in law and in fact when it denied Agrizzi bail on October 14 after state prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk.

The Independent Directorate (ID) of the National Prosecuting Authority had submitted that Agrizzi had failed to honestly disclose his finances and the fact that he still held an Italian passport.

It also told the court that he had purchased a home in the Tuscan town of Castel del Piano.

The ID in reacting to the ruling by Judge Ratha Motgoatleng said it was pleased that the court had ordered him to provide it with a title deed to the R18-million property by November 10.

Agrizzi was also ordered to make a full declaration of all assets held by him and his relationship partner, and to hand in all his passports.

“Our main contention was the fact that Angelo Agrizzi failed to disclose his true value of the assets that he owns in the country and abroad and we are now happy that the court has ordered him to furnish the State with his R18-million Italian home’s title deed by the 10th of November,” said ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Twala.

“He is also required to hand over all his passports, the ones that we might know and that we might not know. He is further ordered by the court that failure by him to do so will result in him being recommitted within 48 hours.”

Agrizzi’s lawyer, Daniel Witz, had in the appeal cited his client’s poor health and said he was at high risk of contracting Covid-19 in prison.

Agrizzi has a chronic respiratory condition and suffered a heart attack in a private clinic last week. He was admitted to a public hospital on October 15 and later moved to a private facility with the permission of prison authorities.

Agrizzi faces corruption charges relating to alleged bribes paid to former African National Congress MP Vincent Smith to overcome his resistance to the Department of Correctional Services granting lucrative tenders to Bosasa.

Smith faces corruption and fraud charges, the latter relating to his failure to declare the payments to Parliament, where he had chaired the portfolio committee on correctional services.