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The Hawks arrested a retiree for allegedly stealing Covid-19 relief money.
PHOTO: Felix Dlangamandla, Gallo Images, Netwerk24
- A Hammanskraal pensioner reportedly extracted almost R5 million from the Covid-19 FIU fund.
- To date, the Hawks have arrested 14 people for similar crimes.
- This includes three police officers who allegedly stole almost R700,000 from the fund.
A 62-year-old retiree from Hammanskraal earned a hefty additional pension of R4.7 million for allegedly stealing money from the FIU’s Covid-19 Temporary Assistance Plan for Employers / Employees (TERS).
The Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit arrested him in Hammanskraal on Sunday for alleged fraud and theft. This brings the number of people arrested linked to the FIU TERS fraud to 14, said Hawks spokesman Brig. Hangwani Mulaudzi.
Some of the suspects were released on bail, while the 62-year-old retiree will be charged with fraud and, alternatively, robbery and money laundering.
The pensioner was arrested after he allegedly failed to disclose that he instantly became a millionaire with money intended to pay employees of a company that will be disclosed in court documents.
“It is understood that the suspect worked for the same company and allegedly used the same reference number from his previous employers to request his UIF payment. Later, after numerous inquiries from the company, it was discovered that the money was actually paid, but he was redirected to the suspect’s account, “Mulaudzi said.
One case was registered and almost R4.6 million have already been recovered. He allegedly used almost R100,000 on himself.
He is expected to appear in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court on Monday.
Three police officers arrested
In another case, Sergeant Thokozane Mchunu, 34, Sergeant Nqobile Witness Mzimela, 39, and Sboniso Percival Khanyile, 25, will also appear in the same court on Monday after they were arrested last week in Durban for alleged R692,000 fraud and money laundering, also linked to the same Covid-19 FIU fund.
National Adhesive requested relief funds for its employees. However, it emerged that the company’s bank details were fraudulently changed and the R692,000 redirected to another bank account. Ultimately, it was discovered that the account allegedly belonged to Mchunu of the Durban Central Tactical Response Team.
He allegedly transferred the money to Mzimela and Khanyile. Almost $ 40,000 has already been frozen, a bakkie and open land have also been confiscated and are expected to be confiscated from the state.
The national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, praised the team for quickly arresting and bringing the suspects to court.
This would not have been possible without a collective effort and the assistance of the National Prosecutor’s Office, the Asset Confiscation Unit, the Center for Financial Intelligence, the Specialized Investigation into Priority Crimes and the intelligence community, he said.
“Retirees are supposed to be role models for their children and grandchildren. Without suggesting the guilt of the suspect, behavior in this way suggests a bad role model,” Lebeya said.
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