Sunday Times reports that nearly R6m in Covid-19 relief funds, which was intended for 200 workers, were diverted to one man in what Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) investigators have called a glaring instance of fraud and money laundering.  

In what appears to be a manipulation of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) relief system, a large labour broker’s Covid-19 Temporary Employment Relief Scheme (Ters) claim was paid to one man, namely Tshepang Phohole.  In an instant he went from having R12 in his account to more than R5m, much of it then quickly funnelled to friends.  Within five days he had blown through nearly R5.7m.  The AFU and police are now probing the UIF to establish whether employees acted in concert with Phohole.  On Friday, the graft-busting unit of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) secured a preservation order, freezing money in 28 bank accounts.  The NPA’s Sipho Ngwema said:  “We placed our focus on securing the stolen money as quickly as possible. Law enforcement agencies have come together to form an oversight structure which seeks out Covid-19-related corruption and that is how this incident was picked up.”  The cash was allegedly diverted to Phohole after a system change at the UIF, in terms of which claims could be paid directly to individuals rather than to their employers.  The R5.7m was meant for employees of Pretoria labour broker CSG Resources.  The firm submitted its application to the UIF and, inexplicably, the entire amount was paid into Phohole’s bank account.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jeff Wicks on page 1 of Sunday Times of 21 June 2020

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