A 58-year-old man was arrested by the Hawks after he tried to con a businessman of R100 000.
The suspect appeared in the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate Court on Thursday January 26 for Corruption and Fraud and was granted R5 000 bail.
On January 18 members of Mpumalanga Hawks (Serious Corruption Investigation) received a complaint from a business owner about a man who is demanding money from him for tenders that he claims he has procured for him from the Department of Human Settlement from the MEC to build 10 000 RDP houses around Mpumalanga.
The complainant said that the man demanded R100 000 for exchange of the appointment letter.
Little did the suspect know that the man he was trying to con was in fact the brother of the MEC for Human Settlement and MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison in Mpumalanga.
The suspect continued calling the victim for the money as he alleged that he has the document with him and want the money and he also said that he will need R6 000 from each one of the 10 000 RDP houses to be built.
On January 24 members of the Hawks embarked on a sting operation. The meeting between the complainant and the suspect was arranged for payment of the money in one of the restaurants around Bronkhorstspruit.
A 58-year-old man was granted bail at R5 000 for corruption and fraud.
The suspect arrived as arranged and he was given the money and he took the money with his laptop bag and proceeded to the rest room to hide the money inside the laptop bag deeper.
When he came out the investigating team were there to arrest him.
The suspect was then arrested and the money was found inside the laptop bag and when asked about the money he answered that he is a pastor and the money is for the organisation.
On further investigation it was discovered that the suspect was jobless and going around pretending to be a director of an architectural company and consultancy services.
The suspect was taken into custody and appeared before the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate Court where he was granted R5 000 bail for charges of corruption and fraud, the 58-year-old man’s case was postponed for further investigation to March 9.
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