KZN woman charged with R4.2m Covid-19 relief fund fraud
Hawks arrest woman accused of falsely claiming over R4.2-million in Covid-19 Ters funds.
A KZN woman (38) has been arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering linked to Covid-19 relief funds.
The woman was taken into custody on Wednesday by Hawks officers from the Pietermaritzburg Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit.
According to Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo, the woman is accused of fraudulently claiming R4 229 044.61 from the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) between November 2020 and October 2022.
“Our preliminary investigation revealed that no employees were employed at her company and the company was not entitled to claim,” said Mhlongo.
He added that a case of fraud was opened at Pietermaritzburg Police Station and handed to the Hawks for a detailed investigation, which led to Wednesday’s arrest.
The accused appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court and was granted bail of R10 000. The case was postponed to 23 July for a pre-trial hearing.
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