Two KwaZulu-Natal police sergeants appeared in the Durban specialised commercial crimes court on Tuesday for allegedly defrauding the UIF's Covid-19 relief fund of nearly R700,000.

Sgt Thokozani Mchunu from the Durban Central tactical response team and his co-accused, Sgt Nqobile Mzimela of the Durban tracking team and Siboniso Khanyile, made a brief appearance in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday.

Court documents containing bank transactions revealed that Mchunu allegedly spent R90,000 to purchase land.

The three were arrested on Monday on charges of fraud, money laundering and theft.

In July the Asset Forfeiture Unit froze Mchunu’s accounts after an order granted by the North Gauteng High Court over allegations that R692,185.55 was fraudulently or mistakenly paid into a bank account in Durban registered in Mchunu’s name.

“Accused two [Mzimela] and three [Khanyile] assisted accused one [Mchunu] by receiving fraudulent money into their accounts, to disguise the origin of the said money. The accused acted in concert with each other, in furtherance of a common purpose during the commission of offences,” read the court documents.

The money was meant to be paid into the account of a Durban-based company, National Adhesive Distributors CC, whose relief application was approved on April 15.

The company’s financial director Jason Nadauld told SowetanLIVE's sister publication TimesLIVE that they felt victimised by the UIF, who would not offer them any more assistance, and that they had since paid employees out of their own pockets.

Meanwhile, the Hawks said almost R240,000 had already been frozen and efforts to recoup the money were under way.

The matter was transferred to a regional court in Pretoria for a bail application on August 31.

TimesLIVE