The suspects’ company allegedly claimed benefits for more than 700 ghost employees.
The Hawks are continuing their relentless pursuit of fraudsters who swindled the government out of millions of rands through the Covid-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (Ters), administered by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
In the latest breakthrough, the crime-fighting unit arrested a 48-year-old Malawian-born permanent South African resident, his 48-year-old South African wife, and his 39-year-old South African-born brother-in-law in connection with alleged fraud and money laundering activities dating back to 2020.
The trio are expected to appear before the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 18 May, following their arrest.
Corruption
“According to information received, the main suspect, who is a director of a construction company, allegedly unduly benefited from the Covid-19 Ters administered through the UIF, resulting in an actual loss of R26 943 793.19 to the UIF,” Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi said.
“The company allegedly claimed benefits for more than 700 ghost employees.”
A joint investigation conducted by the Hawks’ Nelspruit-based Serious Corruption Investigation, the UIF, the Special Investigating Unit, and the National Prosecuting Authority Asset Forfeiture Unit revealed that the funds were channelled into various bank accounts.
These included those belonging to the company director, his wife and her company, and his brother-in-law, allegedly for personal enrichment.
Investigations
Nkosi said Further investigations indicated that the funds were used to acquire various movable and immovable assets.
“It is further alleged that the brother-in-law played a significant role in recruiting individuals under false promises of employment. Some of the identification particulars used in the claims allegedly belonged to former employees of the company.
“The investigation culminated in the arrest of the three suspects, who handed themselves over to the Hawks on Sunday, 17 May,” Nkosi said.
Fraudsters
The Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in Mpumalanga, Major General Nico Gerber, commended the collaborative efforts of the various law enforcement agencies involved in bringing the suspects to justice.
“The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Mpumalanga, is committed to serving the residents of Mpumalanga. Criticism is often laid against law enforcement for the failure to bring perpetrators to book.
“This is again another prime example of how law enforcement across agencies work together to ensure criminals are held accountable and seize the proceeds of crime. We remain steadfast in our commitment, and more is to come,” said Gerber.
Investigations are continuing.
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