Three men have been charged with theft and intimidation after they allegedly demanded a share of R2m paid to a non-profit organisation (NPO) by the Mpumalanga health department.

The suspects, aged 45, 42 and 34, were served with a court summons this week after an investigation by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation team last year, said Hawks spokesperson Capt Lloyd Ramovha.

They allegedly tried to strong-arm the owner of the NPO into paying them from the entity’s coffers in December 2020.

“At one meeting, one of the accused allegedly took the complainant’s laptop and transferred amounts ranging from R100,000 to R150,000 in three transactions to different bank accounts. The complainant was able to stop two transactions before they were processed.”

A warrant of arrest has been issued for a fourth suspect.

The case has been postponed to February 15 pending further investigation and tracing of the fourth suspect.

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