FREE STATE – Seven suspects between the ages of 31 and 81 are expected to appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ court tomorrow, 21 July 2022 where they will be facing charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering.

It is alleged that in 2017, three officials from the Department of Public Works in the Free State and two company directors defrauded the Department by submitting inflated and fraudulent invoices for the leasing of two properties to the State. After the Department made payments to the service providers, transfers were then made to these officials and to other private individuals who were allegedly used for money laundering. The private individuals will then transfer the money to these government officials. As a result of the fraudulent activities, the Department of Public Works was prejudiced and suffered a total loss of more than R3 million.

The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Bloemfontein for further investigation. The seven suspects were served with summons between, 22 June 2022 and 07 July 2022.

Source: South African Police Service