The Serious Commercial Crime Investigation of the Hawks based in Gqeberha arrested Christo De Jager (59) on 10 March 2023 for numerous charges of fraud and corruption.
It is alleged that during the period between January 2013 and April 2021, De Jager who was employed by Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) in Uitenhage as a fleet administrator became part of a scam by conniving with an employee in Autotrust that was contracted to do auto body repair work for VWSA to defraud VWSA.
Further allegations are that De Jager was being paid on monthly basis for orchestrating the payments based on fraudulent invoices.
A whistle was blown and the matter was reported to the Hawks for extensive investigation.
Investigations revealed that during the 8 year period of the commission of the offence, 572 fraudulent invoices were submitted and paid for thus prejudicing VWSA more than R12 million for services not rendered.
De Jager was arrested by the Hawks during the early hours of 10 March 2023, subsequently appeared in Gqeberha New Law Court and was released on a warning.
The matter was remanded to 23 March 2023 for legal representation.
The team is once more lauded for the determination in fighting these criminal tendencies that cripple the economy of the country. “When big companies like VWSA become prejudiced due to such criminal tendencies, the country’s economic social strata is adversely affected”, reiterated Major General Obed Ngwenya, the Provincial Head.
