Durban — Eight suspects are expected to appear before the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court for Covid-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme fraud.
Hawks KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said that on Tuesday, provincial Hawks members tasked to investigate Covid-19 fraud cases arrested eight suspects aged between 22 and 53 for fraud, corruption and money laundering.
“It is alleged that two of the arrested suspects are directors of companies that applied for Temporary Employee Relief Scheme for their employees. They allegedly added a number of employees who were not working for their companies, and, as a result, the Department of Labour suffered a loss of more than R2.4 million,” Mhlongo said.
He said two cases of fraud were reported at the Durban Central police station and case dockets were allocated to the Hawks members for intensive investigation.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that one of the department’s employees received cash from the suspect, and she was also arrested,” Mhlongo said.
He said the suspects are expected to appear in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday, July 27, 2022.
Daily News