FREE STATE – A 50-year-old suspect is expected to appear before the Virginia Commercial Crimes Court this morning where she will be facing charges of fraud and contravention of the Tax Administration Act.

She was arrested yesterday, 18 August 2022 by the Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Welkom after she failed to appear in court on 04 August 2022.

A preliminary probe by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) uncovered the suspect, her co-accused, Petrus Olivier (66) and the company, Tsela Construction’s fraudulent activities that cost SARS in excess of more than R9 million for the period between March and May 2019.

The matter was reported to the Hawks for further investigation. The suspect and her co-accused were issued with summons in May 2022. Meanwhile her co-accused; Olivier and Tsela Construction appeared in court on 4 August 2022 and their case was remanded to today, 19 August 2022.

Source: South African Police Service