On Tuesday, 27 June 2023 Hawks members from Pietermaritzburg Serious Commercial Crime Investigation arrested Raj Gopi (59), Radharukmoney Gopi (61) and Harichans Rampersad (61) for fraud, money laundering as well as contravention of Income Tax Act.
It is alleged that the accused colluded and defrauded the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal through cover quoting.
They allegedly created fictitious enterprises through which they engaged in cover quoting, as a result legislated procurement processes were evaded in order to guarantee the award of various contracts to enterprises of the syndicate.
An amount of more than R85 million was paid by the department during the financial year 2012/2013 and 2016/2017.
A case of fraud was reported at Pietermaritzburg police station and the case docket was allocated to the Hawks members for further investigation.
Through intensive and prosecution guided investigation, the accused were arrested and charged accordingly.
They briefly appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court and were remanded in custody.
The case was postponed to 10 July 2023 and more arrests are expected.
