Money allegedly sent to daughter and helper: Land commission director in court for fraud

A director at the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights is set to appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court on Monday for allegedly diverting funds from the institution.

The accused official and her accomplices were reportedly arrested on Saturday by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) after allegedly being connected to financial irregularities within the commission.

She was suspended in July, pending an investigation. The commission said at the time that action could be taken against other officials if implicated.

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How the crime was allegedly committed

Chief Director and Strategic Communications of Gauteng’s Department of Agriculture Land Reform & Rural Development, Linda Page, told The Citizen the nature of the director’s alleged crimes “involved transferring money into accounts that are not those of beneficiaries”.

“The allegations are that money was misappropriated, diverted to relatives and that sort of thing.”

Page said the official was the only one of the accused employed by the commission.

“She was a director based in the Eastern Cape. The other accomplices are, according to the Hawks, relatives. One of them is her daughter, and another is a helper. In total, there are seven accused.”

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Over R9 million defrauded

Page said over R9 million was defrauded by the suspect using false beneficiaries.

“No beneficiaries were disadvantaged due to the financial irregularities, as it appears the suspect added names to the lists of beneficiaries due for compensation.”

The Daily Dispatch reported that R321,146 went to the Director, R1,183,948 to her daughter, and R325,044 to the helper.

The Commission has been in full cooperation with the involved law enforcement agencies.

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No tolerance for corruption

The arrests were welcomed by the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Mr Mzwanele Nyhontso, who warned that corruption will be met with “tough action”.

The department said Chief Land Claims Commissioner Ms Nomfundo Ntloko “remains committed to rooting out corruption related to the restitution of land rights process”.