Muller Conrad 'Billy' Rautenbach was born on 23 September 1959 and is a Zimbabwean businessman who was born in Salisbury.
23 Facts About Billy Rautenbach
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Billy Rautenbach's ventures include companies in transport, cobalt, platinum mining, and biofuel production sectors, primarily in Africa.
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From 1999 to 2009, Billy Rautenbach was a fugitive facing fraud and corruption charges in South Africa.
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Billy Rautenbach was born in 23 September 1959 in Salisbury, Rhodesia, now known as Harare.
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Billy Rautenbach inherited a Rhodesia-based trucking company from his father, Wessels, and his rise in the business world began when he moved to Johannesburg, South Africa.
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Billy Rautenbach had business interests in construction, land, and mining.
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Billy Rautenbach did not return to South Africa until 2009, when he reached a R40 million plea agreement with prosecutors.
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Billy Rautenbach controlled Boss Mining Ltd, which held the rights to half of the Mukondo mine and to two other mining concessions in the Katanga province of the DRC.
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Yet by 2007, Billy Rautenbach was again an unpopular figure among some DRC politicians.
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In July 2007, Billy Rautenbach was detained in Katanga and deported to Zimbabwe.
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Billy Rautenbach faced charges for crimes he had allegedly committed while at Hyundai, including numerous counts of fraud and theft.
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On 18 September 2009, Billy Rautenbach handed himself over to the NPA.
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Billy Rautenbach launched a legal challenge against the validity of the 1999 raids, and of the evidence seized in the process, with the Constitutional Court ultimately ruling against him.
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In court papers, the state claimed that Billy Rautenbach was linked to the murder of Yong Koo Kwon of Daewoo Motors, who had been shot dead in his car in Johannesburg in February 1999.
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Agliotti said, and Billy Rautenbach confirmed, that Billy Rautenbach paid $100 000 to Agliotti, who channelled $30 000 to Selebi.
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Billy Rautenbach was reportedly an associate of ZANU-PF government minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, who became president in 2018.
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In 1999, Billy Rautenbach denied the allegations, saying that he had never met Robert Mugabe.
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Billy Rautenbach was subject to targeted European Union sanctions, from January 2009 until February 2012, for his alleged association with the ZANU-PF regime.
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The 2022 Data Leaks at Credit Suisse appeared to confirm earlier allegations that Billy Rautenbach had supported the Mugabe regime's campaign during the 2008 Zimbabwean elections.
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Billy Rautenbach was able to sell his shares from the deal for a huge profit, but the mine was left undeveloped for over a decade.
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In 2014, Temba Mliswa, the provincial chairperson for Zanu-PF in Mashonaland West and a Member of the Zimbabwean Parliament, accused Billy Rautenbach of bribing Arda board chairperson Basil Nyabadza, claiming that he had bought Nyabadza a house in exchange for preferential treatment.
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Billy Rautenbach has denied claims that the plant's effluent is a pollutant.
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Billy Rautenbach's son, Conrad Rautenbach, is a rally driver, competing in the World Rally Championship full time in 2008 and 2009.