Six officials from various SASSA offices in the Eastern Cape have been identified as internal contacts for a syndicate that has been fraudulently diverting social grants. This follows the recent arrests of five people in Butterworth, who were caught presenting a list of beneficiaries to a South African Social Security Agency official, the Agency said in a statement.
The arrests were carried out as part of a joint operation by SASSA’s Eastern Cape Region, working with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) and the Butterworth Police. The arrest of the five people from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal was a major breakthrough in the fight against fraud, SASSA said.
“It is evident that the syndicate is operating from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, since all fraudulent grant withdrawals are made there,” the Agency said.
In Butterworth, the five were in possession of a list of SASSA accounts that were to be changed without the rightful beneficiaries’ consent to fraudulent accounts. After capturing and activation, this would have amounted to a total of R1.3 million.
Of the arrested, three are from Kwazulu-Natal and other two are from Gauteng, SASSA said.
“Accused number 1 has a pending case of similar nature in East London,” the Agency said.
Accused number 2 was out on bail in Joburg and was due to appear in court on Friday.
“Through the checks and balances in the systems, SASSA was able to trace the usernames that are used in this syndicate,” the Agency said. “The partnership between SASSA and law enforcement agencies is now beginning to yield the desired outcomes, as announced by the Honourable Minister Ms Lindiwe Zulu.”
In her 2019/20 budget vote speech, Zulu said SASSA would be vigilant in ensuring grants are paid to eligible beneficiaries. SASSA was allocated R68 million for investigations in the current financial year.
During her recent visit to the Eastern Cape region, the Minister encouraged officials to blow the whistle on fraud and corruption.
“SASSA strongly condemn these criminal syndicates, who without shame exploit the vulnerability of our people and undermine government efforts in tackling poverty,” the Agency said.
All five suspects were remanded in custody after their brief court appearance on 21 October 2019 and were due for their second appearance in Butterworth Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 28 October 2019.
