MKP councillor among UIF fraud accused: SIU

SIU conducts search and seizure operation on December 11 as part of its investigation into a syndicate that allegedly siphoned approximately R161 million from the UIF TERS.

The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) says an uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) councillor from Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal is among those accused of fraud.

This relates to fraudulent claims from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Temporary Employees Relief Assistance Scheme (TERS) between March last year and June this year.

The SIU is conducting simultaneous raids at properties of individuals and businesses in KZN and Gauteng.

About 35 suspects are linked to defrauding the government of R161 million in COVID-19 funds.

The Unit’s Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says they have discovered that the money has been distributed amongst 16 companies and 35 individuals alleged to be part of a syndicate.

Kganyago says, “We are following up on some syndicates that were syphoning money out of the UIF what we call TERS. Therefore, they were pronging UIF with some false information and ghost employees, and they siphoned an amount of about R161 million, therefore one of them is in this apartment and has receive R18 million of that R161 million.”

He adds, “We are doing this search throughout the country mainly in KZN and Gauteng following about 35 individuals and then we are now going to the next one that will be in Port Shepstone where we have got a MKP councillor who is also involved in this syndicate. ”