By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Hawks boss Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya says a number of arrests and convictions of people involved in money laundering, corruption and fraud were secured through the Fusion Centre.
Lebeya addressed media on the achievements and accomplishments of the Fusion Centre.
The Fusion Centre was established in May 2020 by the anti-corruption task team and the national priority operational committee as a multidisciplinary and collaborative effort in the prevention and combatting of corruption and money laundering.
Lebeya said, there were 97 referrals for disciplinary and executive actions against officials in government departments and state-owned entities.
Of these, 11 public officials were dismissed for various cases of maladministration, fraud and corruption.
Three have resigned, eight were suspended, and 71 cases are still pending, while one has received a written warning.
Other referrals include 58 cases to the Competition Commission, 57 to the South African Health Product Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and 29 companies referred to National Treasury to blacklist them on the Central Suppliers Database (CSD) and 47 referrals from SIU to NPA and DPCI.
The Fusion Centre investigated 556 cases and an incident of fraud, maladministration and tax evasion.
Corruption cases involving 168 accused persons were secured before the various courts in the country, said Lebeya.
He said 51 natural persons and 43 entities were convicted for various crimes, including corruption, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering.
Lebeya added: “This work is being done through dedicated and collaborative efforts of the full range of the members of the criminal justice system. We will show, through the results of our collective efforts, that several arrests and convictions have been secured and proceeds removed from those who have been involved in fraud, corruption and money laundering. These actions show that the government’s investment in fighting financial crime is reaping rewards and that the agencies with individual mandates and focus areas can work together effectively to expedite the fight against financial crime.”
Meanwhile two Zimbabwean nationals are in custody following their arrest in the Northern Cape on charges of trafficking in persons.
Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Tebogo Thebe, said a man and a woman were arrested being seen boarding a bus in Midrand in Gauteng with 14 undocumented children.
He said police were alerted to the situation by a passenger who called a policeman friend who who alerted his colleagues.
Thebe said members of a multi-disciplinary team inspected the bus during a stopover in Kimberley.
“The suspects claimed to be taking the kids to their parents in Cape Town, information the police could not verify leading to the arrest.
“The children were examined and looked dirty, without any additional clothes nor bags, and looked hungry. They have been taken to a place of safety,” he said.
The Provincial Head of the Hawks in the Northern Cape Major General Steven Mabuela commended the efforts of the police officer Sergeant Phumla Mpolokeng.
Elsewhere five suspects have been arrested following the discovery of seven burnt bodies in Diepsloot on 1 December. The suspects — aged between 30 and 38 — appeared at the Randburg magistrate’s court on Wednesday.