Cape Town – Two former Post Office officials from the Eastern Cape and their partners have been arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) on charges of fraud and money laundering.
The 37-year-old branch manager, along with her boyfriend, 40, a former police officer, a former Post Officer teller, 35, and her 50-year-old husband, a former teacher, were arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team in Queenstown on Tuesday.
According to the provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, the suspects allegedly stole grant funds from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) in 2020 and 2021.
“Information was received by Crime Intelligence and handed over to the Hawks for extensive probing.
“The investigations revealed that the Post Office officials orchestrated the transactions by omitting and inflating under accounting entries on the systems in place to create an opportunity to siphon cash that was meant to pay Sassa beneficiaries.
“It is further alleged that ghost beneficiaries were also created. The inter-grant payment system and the accounting system were manipulated in this fashion,” Mgolodela said.
She said on July 13, 2021, during the collection of evidence, cash to the value of more than R139 000 was found at the suspects’ disposal either in vehicles or in their residential places.
“Further probing revealed that a total of more than R10.2 million was siphoned from the coffers of Sassa, hence their arrest on September 27,” Mgolodela said.
The suspects are expected to make their first appearance in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday.
The acting provincial head of the Hawks, Brigadier Tamara Njikelana, commended the investigating team for ensuring that the suspects were brought to book.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL