Former South African umpire Rudi Koertzen killed in car crash
Cape Town, Aug 9: Former South African international umpire Rudi Koertzen was killed in a car crash on Tuesday morning near a town called Riversdale, a local website reported.
He was 73.
Koertzen is survived by his wife and four children.
One of the most respected umpires in world cricket from the late 1990s till 2010, Koertzen had officiated in nearly 400 international games.
"The world-famous cricket umpire, Rudi Koertzen, and three other people were killed in a head-on collision near Riversdale on Tuesday morning. The 73-year-old Koertzen from Despatch in Nelson Mandela Bay was on his way back home from Cape Town after a golf weekend," Algoa FM News reported.
The former umpire's son, Rudi Koertzen Jr, confirmed the tragic news.
"He went on a golf tournament with some of his friends, and they were expected to come back on Monday, but it seems they decided to play another round of golf," Koertzen Jr told the website.
Koertzen was inducted into the ICC's Elite Panel in 2002 and was a part of it for eight years.
During his tenure, he officiated as on-field and TV umpire in as many as 397 games, including 128 Test matches, a record 250 ODIs, and 19 T20 Internationals.
He had his share of controversies too, including continuing with the 2007 ODI World Cup final between Sri Lanka and Australia in near darkness due to a wrong interpretation of rule, which forced the ICC to not give him any assignment during the inaugural World T20, which was held in his own country, in 2007.
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ED attaches Anil Ambani's 'Abode' worth Rs 3,716 crore in PMLA case
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani's Mumbai house, 'Abode', worth Rs 3,716 crore under the anti-money laundering law.
The attachment comes a day before Ambani, 66, is expected to appear before the federal probe agency here for his second round of questioning on Thursday in a case linked to the alleged bank loan fraud involving Reliance Communications (RCOM).
The luxurious house, which is stated to be 66-metre high with 17 floors, is located in the Pali Hill area of Mumbai.
A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the multi-storeyed house in the case linked to an alleged bank fraud by Ambani's group company RCOM, the federal probe agency said in a statement.
It stated that the value of the attached asset was Rs 3,716.83 crore.
A part of this property, worth Rs 473.17 crore, was similarly attached by the ED in November, 2025.
RCOM and its group companies availed loans from domestic and foreign lenders with a total outstanding of Rs 40,185 crore, as per the ED.
An email sent by PTI to the Reliance Group seeking comment on the development remained unanswered.
The ED issues a provisional attachment order against an immovable or movable asset to prevent the accused from transacting, selling, or transferring it during the investigation.
Once the PMLA Adjudicating Authority confirms this order within the stipulated 180 days, the ED can confiscate the property and, in the case of a house, ask residents to vacate it.
Probe found that, among other assets, the Pali Hill property (Abode) was aggregated into the RiseE Trust, a private family trust of the members of Ambani's family.
"This was done to make it appear as though Mr Anil Ambani is not involved. The intended effect of this corporate restructuring was to ensure wealth preservation and resource generation by aggregation of the property in the RiseE Trust and shield it from the personal liabilities of Mr Anil Ambani in the form of Personal Guarantees extended by him to lender banks against the loans sanctioned to RCOM," the agency claimed.
It added that the property was intended to be "beneficially" used and owned by the Anil Ambani family and not for the distressed public banks whose loans became non-performing assets (NPAs).
With the latest order, the total value of the attachment in this case stands at about Rs 15,700 crore.
Ambani is expected to appear before the federal probe agency here for his second round of questioning on Thursday.
He first deposed before the ED in August 2025 and had his statement recorded under the PMLA.
The agency recently constituted a special investigation team to probe multiple cases of alleged bank fraud and linked financial irregularities against the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) on the directions of the Supreme Court.
