Durban Hawks arrest woman for R2.6 million TERS UIF fraud
It is believed, Nana Precious Mbuto colluded with a government employee to defraud the TERS UIF system of R2.6 million.
A WOMAN was arrested by the Hawks in Durban for defrauding the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) of R2.6 million.
The Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation arrested Nana Precious Mbuto, 33, on 23 February for fraud-related crime.
According to the Hawks, Mbuto submitted a fabricated list of employees for her businesses, Sandy & Sissy Trading and Narrow Road Trading Projects.
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Hawks said Mbuto colluded with a government official from the Department of Labour in her fraud schemes.
The official has not been arrested as yet.
A search on the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission shows that Mbuto owns a couple of companies registered across Durban.
Narrow Road Trading Projects, where she is registered as the sole director, was registered in 2011.
The TERS Unemployment Insurance Fund was introduced in March last year by the South African government during the first national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The fund was to supplement the wages of workers who were either retrenched or getting a pay cut but there has been numerous cases of business owners abusing the system mainly by creating phantom employees. To date, the TERS UIF has paid out R58 billion.
Mbuto made a brief appearance in the Durban Commercial Crime Court yesterday, 25 February.
She was not granted bail and the case was postponed to 4 March for a formal bail application.
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