Hawks arrest four for SASSA grant theft

On 27 September 2022, the Serious Corruption Investigation team of the Hawks, based in East London, made four arrests for alleged fraud and money laundering. A 37-year-old post office branch manager, a 35-year-old post office teller, a 40-year-old former police officer who was the boyfriend of the former post office branch manager, and a 50-year-old former educator who was the husband of the post office teller.

It is suspected that Post Office employees stole money from the SASSA grant program between the years 2020 and 2021. This was for their financial gain. Crime Intelligence obtained information and forwarded it to the Hawks for in-depth investigation.

Investigations found that the post office employees planned the transactions by omitting, exaggerating, or understating accounting entries on the established systems. This was to create a window of opportunity for siphoning off funds intended for SASSA recipients. Furthermore, it is claimed that ghost beneficiaries were also made. This involved manipulating both the accounting system and the Inter Grant Payment System (IGPS).

Cash worth more than R139 000 was discovered at the accused’ disposal on 13 July 2021, either in their vehicles or at their residences during the collection of evidence. Further investigation showed that more than R10.2 million had been stolen from SASSA’s funds, leading to their arrest on 27 September 2022.

On September 28, 2022, they appeared in court for the first time in the Mthatha Specialized Commercial Crimes Court.

Brigadier Tamara Njikelana, the acting provincial head, praised the squad for their skillful investigation techniques, which ultimately guaranteed that the offenders were brought to justice.

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