Trio arrested for Sassa card fraud in Tembisa

Three suspects have been arrested for allegedly using Sassa cards for fraudulent activities.

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Community Liaison Unit (CLU) officers, in conjunction with the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and other law-enforcement officials, apprehended the three suspects on Wednesday.

Arrest

The EMPD said the suspects, aged between 38 and 47 years, were caught with 250 Sassa cards.

“The multidisciplinary team were executing operational duties, when they stopped a suspected vehicle on Andrew Mapheto drive in Tembisa.

“The police officers searched the vehicle and found Sassa cards. One of the suspect admitted to utilising the Sassa cards for fraudulent criminal activities. The suspects were arrested and detained at Tembisa Police Station,” EMPD said.

The suspects are expected to appear in court soon.

ALSO READ: Fidelity responds to Sassa millions ‘heist’ in underground car park

Sassa corruption

Meanwhile, the Fidelity Services Group (FSG) said it could not comment on what it called a “specific allegation” about how millions of rands in cash meant for social welfare grants allegedly changed hands in an underground parking lot at Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) offices in Rosebank, Johannesburg.

The shocking claim was revealed in an affidavit deposed by one of FSG’s former senior security officers.

In his affidavit, the FSG officer revealed how he and his colleagues collected and delivered cash to Nanda Pillay, who was COO of CPS at the time, and how it was placed into the boots of two vehicles — one of them Pillay’s luxury BMW.

Pillay told The Citizen the cash was often delivered to CPS offices as the company had an automated teller machine to allow cash disbursements, but he denied that any of the cash ended up in his car.

FSG was the company appointed to secure the movement of money from depots and banks to social grant pay points nationwide.

Allegations

After contacting Fidelity CEO Wahl Bartmann for a response, the company sent The Citizen a written statement but failed to address the explosive allegations revealed by its former security officer.

“We cannot comment directly on any of these specific allegations, but we can confirm Fidelity provided services to CPS to move and secure cash, including the daily movement of cash at depots, pay sites, offices, branches, and ATMs.

“We confirm we complied with all Reserve Bank regulations and processes. We welcome any further investigation into these allegations and will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities,” FSG said.

CPS was one of three companies the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) appointed to pay social grants in cash at pay points across the country.

There is no suggestion that Fidelity or its CEO, Wahl Bartmann, benefited from this cash.

ALSO READ: Sassa millions ‘heist’ in Rosebank underground car park