[ad_1]
The Hawks arrested a 62-year-old man on Sunday for allegedly pocketing R4.7m from the Covid-19 Unemployment Insurance Fund (FIU) temporary employer / employee (Ters) plan.
Hawks spokesman Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi said the man would face charges of fraud, theft and money laundering.
“The retiree was arrested after he did not disclose that he instantly became a R4.7m millionaire. The money was intended to pay employees of a certain company to be disclosed in court documents,” Mulaudzi said.
This brings to 14 the number of people who have been arrested in connection with the alleged Ters fraud.
“It is understood that the suspect worked for the same company and allegedly used the reference number of his previous employers to request his UIF payment. It was later discovered, after numerous inquiries from the company, that the money was paid but was redirected to the suspect’s account.
“One case was recorded and almost R4.6m has already been recovered. He allegedly used almost R100,000 for himself,” Mulaudzi said.
The man is expected to appear in Pretoria’s commercial crimes court on Monday.
Also on Monday, in a separate case, two police officers, Sergeant Thokozane Mchunu, 34, and Sergeant Nqobile Witness Mzimela, 39, will appear in court along with Sboniso Percical Khanyile, 25, after they were arrested for R692,000 in alleged Ters fraud.
According to Mulaudzi, one company, National Adhesive, requested relief funds for its employees.
“However, it became known that the company’s bank details were fraudulently changed and the R692,000 redirected to another bank account. It was eventually discovered that the account belonged to Mchunu of the Durban Central Tactical Response Team.” Mulaudzi said.
Apparently, Mchunu transferred the money to Mzimela and Khanyile.
“Almost R240,000 have already been frozen. A bakkie and land have also been confiscated and are expected to be confiscated from the state,” Mulaudzi said.
Hawks boss Lt. Gen. Godfrey Lebeya hailed the retiree’s arrest as another breakthrough for the team.
“Retirees are supposed to be role models for their children and grandchildren. Without suggesting the guilt of the suspect, this behavior suggests a bad role model,” Lebeya said.
