Ex-Home Affairs employee allegedly sold fake visas to fund mansion
This comes after the Special Investigating Unit recently revealed shocking evidence of widespread corruption and maladministration within the Department of Home Affairs.
We have all experienced that sinking feeling when you realise you need to go to a Home Affairs office for some reason.
READ: Schreiber: SIU probe exposed 'root causes' of visa fraud
And just when you thought this department couldn't get any worse, it did.
Corruption cases are nothing new in South Africa, but the recent probe by the Special Investigating Unit into the Department of Home Affairs exposed a system that included fraudulent visa approvals, unlawful financial gains by officials, and exploitation by religious figures and external actors.
READ: Systemic corruption at Home Affairs: Officials, religious figures implicated in R16.3m scam - SIU
According to MyBroadband and Jacaranda FM Newswatch, one of the cases involved a former senior administrator at the Department of Home Affairs who allegedly built a luxury home in her Limpopo village after benefiting from a fraudulent visa scheme.
And calling it a mansion is no exaggeration.
The luxury home is located in Setlaboswane, Ga-Masemola, and even has a tarred road built leading up to the entrance.
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The former employee reportedly told the Sunday Times she had no knowledge of the mansion and insisted she was unaware of being implicated in any wrongdoing.
"The Special Investigating Unit has uncovered a disturbing reality. South Africa’s immigration system has been treated as a marketplace where permits and visas are sold to the highest bidder. Officials entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of the Department of Home Affairs instead turned their positions into a profit-making scheme."
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How did the employees do this?
According to the SIU, four Home Affairs officials, each earning less than R25,000 a month, received a total of R16,3-million through illicit channels.
Payments were routed through spouses’ accounts, cash, and e-wallets to conceal the transactions, which were linked directly to visa and permanent residence approvals.
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"Applications were sent via WhatsApp for expedited approval, and once approved, money flowed almost immediately," Lekgetho said.
"Officials turned the payment system into a marketplace. Some used intermediaries, spouses, and other actors to launder the bribes, masking their illicit gains."
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The officials allegedly purchased multiple properties, constructed high-value homes, and invested in large-scale infrastructure developments inconsistent with their declared incomes.
"One official accumulated enough wealth to build a mansion and even paved a road leading to her home, all on a modest government salary," Lekgetho added.
READ: Three senior Health officials arrested in R1m fraud case
The job of the aforementioned employee was simply approving permit applications. In those three years, she approved 426 visas.
She was one of the employees who reportedly earned between R25,000 and R30,000 per month as a government employee, indicating to investigators say there was a “significant disparity” between that salary and her property holdings.
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The SIU says her work revealed:
- R1.3 million in suspicious payments
- A 67% fraudulent approval rate on visa applications she dealt with
Some of her colleagues allegedly pulled in more than R10-million over three years through a money laundering scheme involving a bogus construction company.
The investigation is still underway.
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The SIU has referred 275 criminal matters to the National Prosecuting Authority, closed 111 investigations, and made 100 administrative referrals to Home Affairs for the deportation of foreign nationals with fraudulent visas.
Six disciplinary referrals have also been issued.
Minister Leon Schreiber also confirmed disciplinary processes against those implicated are underway.
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