White River Magistrate’s Court sentences four foreign nationals for fraud and corruption
With the alleged aid of a home affairs official, four foreign nationals fraudulently replaced the photos on some South African IDs with their own to present them as their own.
Faud Mohammed Ali (37), Christopher Marillier (39), Gabriel Samuel van der Merwe (33) and Sifiso Kheswa (31) were sentenced by the White River Magistrate’s Court on February 28 for fraud and corruption.
They were arrested by the Middelburg-based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation after being linked to crimes in terms of the Immigration Act.
During 2021 and 2022, a Department of Home Affairs official allegedly colluded with South African citizens to assist foreign nationals from Pakistan and Bangladesh to obtain South African passports by using their identity documents.
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The foreign nationals fraudulently replaced the owners’ photos with theirs and assumed the names of the South African citizens.
The accused were each fined R100 000 or three years’ imprisonment for charges relating to contravention of the Immigration Act. They further received a R40 000 fine or 12 months’ imprisonment each.
The case against Nhlanhla Mathebula (40), the home affairs official, was postponed to March 9 for trial.
