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Forty-two people have been implicated in a police car brand scam.
- Forty-two people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a police vehicle brand scam.
- They face a number of charges including corruption, fraud, money laundering, theft, and perjury.
- Of these, 22 are members of the police on duty.
Forty-two people are scheduled to appear before the Pretoria Magistrates Court on Tuesday to answer charges related to irregularities in tenders in the South African Police Service (SAPS) Division of Supply Chain Management (SCM) .
All defendants face a variety of charges including corruption, fraud, money laundering, theft, and perjury.
Of the 42 defendants, 22 are current members of the police and another six are retired or have resigned from the police, while the remainder are service providers.
The 42nd person in this case turned himself in Monday at the Silverton Police Station.
A lieutenant colonel attached to the SCM division in Silverton appeared in Pretoria Magistrates Court Monday morning along with five others who were arrested on Friday.
All defendants were released on bail of 5,000 rand.
READ | More arrests made on R56m police car brand ‘scam’
According to police spokesman Colonel Athlenda Mathe, the matter dates back to 2018 when the commissioner of the national police, General Khehla Sitole, set up a team to investigate allegations of tendering irregularities in the award of the marking and unmarking of police vehicles. This came after complaints and allegations of corruption were reported to him.
“Initial investigations related to the marking and demarcation of SAPS vehicles uncovered massive looting of state funds through procurement irregularities, cover quotes and fraudulent processing of contracts to illegally award the same supplier that has numerous companies registered in the database vendor data, “said Mathe.
“This is a case of accumulation; South Africans should expect more heads to roll in the coming days,” said the Head of the Investigations Directorate, defender of Hermione Cronje.
Sitole praised the efforts of the National Anti-Corruption Special team.
“We are pleased with the way this case has reached an advanced stage. Over a two-year period, we are now at 42 arrests, including our own members. We hope this will serve as a deterrent to those who continue to collude in looting the coffers. state, “Sitole said.
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