NORTHERN CAPE – A disruptive operation by the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team led to the arrest of six suspects aged between 33 and 51 in Kuruman and Kimberley respectively for defrauding Sol-Plaatjie municipality and money laundering.
It is alleged that the group created a database of ghost employees between the years 2011 to 2016 in the municipality. These non-existent workers had their salaries paid into various fraudulent bank accounts resulting in approximately R1.6 million loss.
All suspects have been detained and are expected to make their first appearance in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 25 March 2021.