Tshwane officials suspended for fraudulent refund scheme
The City of Tshwane has placed several officials from its Finance Department on precautionary suspension amid investigations into alleged financial irregularities totalling R1.5 million.
City spokesperson Selby Bokaba said a probe was launched into suspicious refund payments, first detected in May 2023, across several municipal accounts.
They have also since appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
"The investigation confirmed that irregular transactions had occurred and initially identified seven officials as suspects. Further analysis narrowed the scope to an organised syndicate allegedly comprising four city officials working with external accomplices,” Bokaba said.
Investigations so far have uncovered approximately R1.585 million in suspected fraudulent refund transactions.
“The group is believed to have identified municipal accounts with credit balances and channelled these details to partners, who then submitted fraudulent refund claims while impersonating legitimate account holders,” Bokaba explained.
One of the implicated officials resigned before disciplinary proceedings could begin, while the remaining officials became the focus of both internal disciplinary action and criminal investigations.
Bokaba said investigators, working with the city’s Forensic Unit, gathered sufficient evidence to charge four municipal officials and one member of the public whose bank account was allegedly used to process the fraudulent transactions.
The accused appeared before the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on 4 March.
However, one former official failed to appear in court, prompting a warrant of arrest. The remaining suspects were released on warning.
The case has been postponed to 29 April.
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