Justice Zonke Magagula<\/strong> ruled that the Crown failed to prove the accused were likely to abscond or interfere with witnesses if released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The five were arrested on March 20 during a joint operation involving the Royal Eswatini Police Service<\/strong>, immigration authorities and other security agencies. They were among several foreign nationals from the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and China detained during investigations into suspected illegal online gambling activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to court documents, the applicants said they responded to an online job advertisement from a company identified as X-Win<\/strong>, which offered customer service trainer positions. They said the company arranged their travel documents before they travelled from the Philippines to South Africa and then to Eswatini, where accommodation had been provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The applicants told the court they entered Eswatini through legal ports of entry and believed they had been lawfully recruited. They also denied the money laundering allegations, stating they were not in possession of the E902,638 (\u20ac48,482) that investigators linked to the case. Each applicant said they had less than E5,000 (\u20ac268) when they were arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Crown opposed bail, alleging the accused used fraudulent or unlawfully obtained visas and were involved in illegal gambling, extortion and related offences. Prosecutors also argued that, as foreign nationals with no established ties to Eswatini, they posed a flight risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the court found that investigators had already seized the applicants\u2019 passports, travel documents, electronic devices and cash, reducing the risk of them fleeing or interfering with the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Justice Magagula also noted that the evidence presented suggested the accused were lower-level participants rather than organisers of the alleged operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each applicant was granted bail of E50,000 (\u20ac2,685), with E5,000 (\u20ac268) payable in cash and the remaining E45,000 (\u20ac2,417) secured by a surety from Eswatini citizen Juagpao Benmie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the bail conditions, the applicants must live at a designated address, report to Matsapha Police Station<\/strong> twice a week and attend all court proceedings. Failure to comply will result in their bail being revoked.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/digital-money-1024x615-300x200.jpeg\")
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