The suspects were arrested on Wednesday by the Hawks.
Image: Hawks
Three suspects are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court in the Free State on Thursday.
The suspects, aged 44 and 59, face charges of theft, fraud and money laundering relating ot the building of low-cost housing in the Nala Local Municipality.
The trio was arrested on Wednesday, May 14, in Bothaville, Welkom, and Bloemfontein by members attached to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (known as Hawks) Serious Corruption Investigation detectives.
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Lieutenant Colonel Zweli Mohobeleli, said the suspects are a development officer, a consulting engineer, and a project manager.
The fraud is in relation to low-cost housing in the Nala Local Municipality.
Image: Hawks
“In May 2021, the Department of Human Settlements appointed a service provider to build 47 foundations in Bothaville as part of the first phase of the project. Over R1.1 million was paid to the service provider. However, it was later discovered that only 14 foundations were built despite the department being billed for 47,” Mohobeleli said.
A Hawks investigation into the matter pointed to a collaboration between the service provider, development officer, consulting engineer, and project manager. Evidence to this effect was presented before the prosecution, resulting in warrants for their arrest being issued.
“The arrest of the service provider is imminent,” Mohobeleli said.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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