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Two arrested over Free State fraud and money laundering allegations

Two people were arrested on Thursday in connection with corruption, fraud and money laundering allegations.
Two people were arrested on Thursday in connection with corruption, fraud and money laundering allegations.
Image: 123RF/Stockstudio44

Two suspects were arrested in an early morning operation on Thursday in an investigation related to corruption, fraud and money laundering, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) said.

Col Katlego Mogale said in a statement the allegations relate to a company known as Superior Quality Trading, which also trades as Rekgonne Community Projects.

“During the investigations of the Estina case, it was discovered that there were irregularities in the financial flow analysis,” of a bank account, said Mogale.

In June 2014, Mogale said, Rekgonne Community Projects entered into an agreement with the Free State department of agriculture and rural development to implement all projects on behalf of the department for two years. Between 2012 and 2016, the department is said to have paid more than R244m to the company.

The suspects, a company official aged 55 and a 49-year-old department official who allegedly received a gratification of more than R260,000, are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein regional court on Friday.

The national head of the Hawks, Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya, applauded the investigation team for the arrests.

-TimesLIVE


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