KwaZulu Natal club Royal AM is reportedly now in new hands following a recent auction.

Local publication Sportswire has confirmed Durban businessman Chockalingam “Roy” Moodley has won the bid, taking over from businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize, whose financial troubles with the SA Revenue Service (SARS) led to the SARS curator putting the club at auction.

Details around the sale are still sketchy, but it’s believed the club could have fetched around R25 million as SARS attempted to recover approximately R40 million owed by Mkhize or her family trust.

As a result, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) is expected to ratify the sale and for Royal AM to return to the field.

The players have already returned to training and will be tasked with playing catch-up of about ten matches. The report also claims that the PSL’s executive committee is pondering whether to relegate any team this season, and if not, the league will comprise 18 teams next season, with two set to be promoted from the Motsepe Foundation Championship.

Who’s Moodley? A quick search suggests he’s a familiar figure.

He’s apparently a close associate of former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, and runs a security firm called Royal Security.

Moodley is also a player in the political game, as leader of the African Movement Congress (ACM), which was formed about a year ago.

In media circles, he has been described as a “state capture kingpin.”

Two years ago, Royal Security was in the spotlight after it was awarded a R282 million contract by the DA-led Western Cape provincial government.

Royal AM players have apparently been promised big bonuses to save the club, as they currently sit bottom of the table.