Former health official and two others arrested for massive tender fraud
A former health official from the Northern Cape and two company directors have been arrested for tender fraud worth R384 million.
They are facing charges of fraud, contravention of the Public Finance Management Act and contravention of the Private Security Industry Regulation Act.
The former Head of Department, who was once a police officer, allegedly awarded tender irregularly to Defensor Electronic Security Systems company for rendering of security services to the department.
Hawks spokesperson Philani Nkwalase says company directors benefitted more than R380 million from submitting fraudulent documents.
“It is further alleged that the directors of the company submitted fraudulent documents in order to gain an unfair advantage over others to be awarded the tender as the highest bidder. They were awarded the tender between August and October 2017, worth a total value surpassing R224 million; however, it later escalated to an amount exceeding R384 million.”
The suspect is currently employed as the Deputy Director-General in another provincial department.
Nkwalase says the case was reported to the Hawks in December 2017 and an Inquiry was registered.
“The inquiry was turned into a case docket in January 2020 culminating to the arrest and subsequent court appearance today.
The suspects handed themselves over to the Hawks this morning and are expected to appear before Kimberley Magistrate Court today,” adds Nkwalase.
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