The Hawks Serious Corruption Offences team has arrested nine suspects on multiple charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering exceeding R56.4 million actual loss, of a potential R200 million.
The nine suspects, aged between 30 and 65, are expected to appear before the Port Elizabeth Magistrates Court after they were warned to hand themselves to the Hawks this morning.
Among the arrested are two former Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality officials, two influential community office bearers as well as five business people.
In a statement, the Hawks said the nine natural persons will be charged along with six juristic persons (entities). The tenth person who was to be arrested passed away recently.
“The Metropolitan Municipality was among those selected for a rapid bus system in 2010 and the Integrated Public Transport System ‘IPTS’ project was administered with funding allocated by the National Treasury. In the same year another project called Implementation and Maintenance of an Institutional Contracts Management and Administration System (ICMAS) was undertaken,” reads the statement.
The Hawks allege that service providers chosen on these two projects were reportedly irregular and their prices were allegedly inflated. The matter was reported to the Hawks for investigations in September 2018 following an audit report by the National Treasury between October 2014 and March 2017.
“It is alleged that the suspects operated a syndicate with common purpose to unlawfully circumvent the prescribed procurement processes to irregularly and fraudulently benefit specific suppliers or consultants,” said the Hawks.
It is further alleged that influential office bearers colluded with municipal officials and controlled decision-making in the appointments of specific persons in critical municipal posts. This was purportedly done to influence procurement processes as well as the appointments of entities willing to advance the interests of the syndicate.
The alleged objective was to ensure a steady stream of unlawful payments from the Municipality to members of the syndicate where the funds were distributed to other syndicate members.
The Hawks said this now forms the second leg of our investigation. The first leg was conducted in April 2017 and led to the arrest of six suspects that included two company directors, one entity, one municipal official and one person from Eastern Cape Province Rugby Union. – SAnews.gov.za
UPDATE:
Nine members of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality’s (Nelson Mandela Metro) syndicate appeared in the New Law Courts in North End on charges fraud, money Laundering, corruption and Contraventions of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) on Friday.
This is in connection with tender corruption worth about R73m earlier today. Mhleleli Mlungisi Tshamase, Walter Shaidi, Fareed Fakir, Rukaard Abrahams, Andrea Joleen Wessels, Nadia Gerwel, Dawid Eduard Le Roux, Zandisile Qupe, and Thando Ngcolomba were released on bail between R5 000 and R100 000.
The nine were charged together with Fakir’s companies Heerkos Projects Cc, Jarami Cc, and Erastyle Pty Ltd Fakir, Abrahams’ Dankovista Pty Ltd, Wessels’ Zeranza 299 Pty Ltd and Le Roux’s Le Roux Inc.
The accused handed themselves over to the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations, popularly known as the Hawks, at the Humewood Police Station at 07h00 earlier this morning, 20 November 2020.
All though they face counts under Schedule 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the state did not oppose bail as were all along aware that they were under investigation and they didn’t pose flight risk.
The matter was remanded to 12 March 2021 for state to seek authorization from the NDPP to prosecute on charges of racketeering in the high court. Between 2013 to 2015, the nine operated as a syndicate to fraudulently and corruptly benefit specific suppliers or consultants (Fakir, Abrahams, Wessels, Le Roux and their companies), to the prejudice of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (Nelson Mandela Metro) and the National Treasury in the amount of approximately R 73 million.
Generally, the individual accused played various roles within the syndicate. It is alleged that Qupe, Ngcolomba and the late Nelson Mandela Metro councilor, Mongameli Bobani, political office bearers, wielded political power within the Nelson Mandela Metro structures and used their positions to control decision-making in the procurement processes.
They obtained co-operation of specific individuals and influenced appointments in critical municipal positions as well as the appointment of people and entities as suppliers or consultants who were willing to advance the interests of the syndicate.
It is alleged Tshamase, Shaidi and Gerwel were municipal officials who abused their positions to manage the internal Nelson Mandela Metro processes in ways designed to ensure the irregular appointment of Heerkos Projects CC, Jarami CC, Erastyle Pty Ltd (all Fakir’s companies) and Le Roux Inc. (Le Roux’s company) as suppliers or consultants, and consequently paid large amounts into the companies’ respective bank accounts.
It is alleged Fakir, and the entities under his control as well as Le Roux and his entity, played a central role as the suppliers and consultants who were irregularly and/or fraudulently awarded contracts and received payments from the Nelson Mandela Metro.
It is alleged Abrahams and Wessels, with their respective entities, Dankovista Pty Ltd and Zeranza 299 Pty Ltd, were members of the syndicate in private business, who acted as professional launderers. They accepted payments from Fakir’s companies, and from each other, partly for themselves and for onward distribution to other syndicate members.
More charges are expected to be added before the matter is referred for prosecution in the high court.
Alan Straton
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