Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has brought a Cape High Court application to attach a Durban property owned by anti-arms deal crusader Terry Crawford-Browne and have it auctioned for R915 000.

This comes after a failed application by the finance ministry for the sequestration of his estate, when Crawford-Browne told the court that he had no assets other than a rusty old Uno.

Manuel now charges that Crawford-Browne failed to disclose a Durban property registered in his name.

The application is the second in the battle between them over a R1-million bill for legal costs that Crawford-Browne has failed to pay the state.

He was ordered to pay the ministry's legal costs in the failed court attempt by Ecaar SA - the organisation Crawford-Browne heads - to expose alleged corruption in the arms acquisition process and halt SA's controversial arms deal.

Crawford-Browne applied for leave to appeal against the ruling, but was refused.

He failed to pay the ministry's costs, however, prompting Manuel to apply for the sequestration of his estate.

But Crawford-Browne said that he did not possess any assets. In refusing the application on November 16 last year, Justice Roger Cleaver said he was not persuaded that Manuel had made out a prima facie case.

The state has since learnt about the Durban property.

In an affidavit included in the application, state attorney Muhammed Thaabit Kagee said that in November - after the sequestration application had been refused - he carried out a further search of the deeds office registry and found a property in Durban that had been registered in Crawford-Browne's name.

"I also bring it to this honourable court's attention that (Crawford-Browne) had failed to disclose the whereabouts of this property to (the minister's) attorneys," Kagee said.

The property is situated at section 51 in the scheme known as The Astra in Russell Street, Durban.

Kagee also learnt that the property had been attached for arrear levies owed to The Astra's body corporate.

He contacted the attorneys representing the body corporate and was told that most of the units had been sold.

The attorneys also said that they were attending to the transfer of the units into the purchaser' names.

The unit registered in Crawford-Browne's name, however, would revert to the body corporate for outstanding levies, Kagee was told.

Kagee said that the property was vacant, so there was no third party who would be affected by the order that the state sought.

He asked that the property be declared executable.

Notice of the application was served on Crawford-Browne on Wednesday evening, but he has not yet responded to the allegations.

With acknowledgements to Fatima Schroeder and the Cape Times.