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Speaking of the case against the 11, Hawks spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said in a statement: “It is alleged that during February 2012 a complaint was filed about the Msukaligwa municipality that allegedly bought a Rietspruit farm in Ermelo worth 11 million rand but was sold for approximately R36.4m in 2011 to develop a municipality, while the municipality owned a farm that could have been used for the same purpose.
Nkwalase said a multi-agency investigation, which included the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and the National Tax Authority (NPA), carried out an investigation.
According to Nkwalase, a whistleblower alerted investigators to two other deals related to two farms:
- a 70ha Malelane farm worth R44m that was allegedly sold to the municipality for R50m in 2011; Y
- a 74.2ha property at Naauwpoort in Emalahleni worth R16 million that apparently sold for R37.5 million.
“The actual combined value of these three farms was approximately R70 million, but due to the alleged collusion of the arrested suspects, the Mpumalanga Human Settlements Department suffered a total loss of just under R124 million,” he said. Nkwalase.
According to the Hawks, the money was funneled through five companies.
“An intricate record of documents was created that includes requests from municipalities, assessment reports and internal correspondence to justify the agreements,” said Nkwalase.
The suspects are expected to appear in Nelspruit magistrates court on Wednesday.
TimesLIVE
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