Three suspects aged 22, 23 and 38 are scheduled to appear in the Welkom Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 24 July 2023 for allegedly defrauding the Department of Labour.
They were arrested on different days by members of the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation based in Welkom.
On Friday, 21 July 2023, two suspects approached the Department of Labour offices in Welkom and presented forged documents in an attempt to claim from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
The suspect could not answer all questions posed while being interviewed by a UIF official who became suspicious.
Upon further investigation, the UIF officials discovered that the suspects were never employed by the company as indicated on the claim form.
Police were then summoned and on arrival they found the two suspects at the scene who were arrested after questioning.
On Saturday, 22 July 2023, the third suspect was linked to the matter and was arrested in Bloemfontein by the Welkom Serious Corruption Investigation team.
