SAPS officials held over
scam - Two clerks suspected of defrauding R2m
TWO officials in the South
African Police Service have been arrested for allegedly siphoning millions of
rands belonging to pensioners into their relatives' bank accounts.
Nkuna has since been dismissed from the SAPS, while Shandu's
disciplinary hearing has not yet been completed.
Makgale said Nkuna was arrested after KgologanoMompati, son of deceased
warrant officer RankwaneMompati, opened a fraud case in December last year.
Shandu was arrested in March this year on similar charges. The officials
were allegedly registering beneficiaries fraudulently. Their modus operandi was
to register their relatives as the beneficiaries of police officers who had
died and to pay some of the money of the deceased to the relatives.
Makgale said a comprehensive forensic investigation which was ordered by
former police minister NathiMthethwa to establish who else was involved in the
scam had been completed and their results would be announced soon.
A source told Sowetan that the scam was much more serious as it was
suspected to have spread to national level.
"Pensioners and beneficiaries, including those who have resigned,
are made to pay a fee to have documents processed," said the source,
adding that there was a syndicate made up of relatives of high-ranking
officials defrauding pensioners and that senior members of the police were
aware of this.
"These are extremely serious claims. We request anyone who has
information about such criminality to assist the police by providing us with
information so that we can investigate it.
"They can call 0860010111 or SMS 32211. They don't have to say who
they are, we just want facts: who is doing what, where, when and how,"
said Makgale in response to the allegations.
"The perpetrators are known. There has been a very few arrests in
the past few months but nothing compared to the problem," Makgale said.
Makgale confirmed there were problems in the section responsible for the
processing and payment of service termination benefits to former employees and
those employed under the SAPS and PublicService Act.
He said there would be more arrests before the end of the year if they
had to go by the findings of the forensic report.
He said they would be meeting theMompati family before the end of this
week to compensate them the money that Nkuna had allegedly transferred into her
relatives' account.
