The Hawks made nearly 550 arrests between January and March 2024, with fraud accounting for nearly half of these, according to Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya. He briefed the media on Friday, outlining the successes of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in the fourth quarter of the 2023/2024 financial year.
Of the 526 individuals arrested, 80% were South Africans, while 20% were foreign nationals. In addition, 21 companies and entities were brought before courts across the country. Gauteng had the highest number of arrests, followed by North West.
Fraud accounted for 224 arrests and 21 companies were implicated. One of the prominent cases involved the VBS Mutual Bank fraud, where R148.6 million was siphoned off and laundered through affiliated companies. Three individuals were arrested on March 5, 2024, in connection with this case. Among them was former Giyani local municipality CFO, Risimati Hitler Maluleke, 64, who faced charges of money laundering and violations of the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA). His bail was set at R25,000. Two others, Nditshedzeni Mashau, 42, and businessman Zwivhuya Goodness Thishonge, 33, were charged with fraud and money laundering and released on R20,000 bail each.
In the ongoing VBS investigation, Lebeya confirmed that 33 arrests had been made, with three convictions so far. The probe, which has seen 2,907 statements recorded, continues, with 43 additional suspects identified.
Another high-profile case involved Steinhoff’s former CEO Markus Jooste. Jooste was fined R475 million for inflating Steinhoff UK’s profits by R5.5 billion and creating fake transactions. A day before his scheduled court appearance, Jooste allegedly committed suicide. Former Steinhoff director Stephanus Johannes Grobler, and ex-CFO Ben le Grange, were granted bail at R150,000 each after their arrests.
The Hawks also secured a 22-year sentence for Jonathan Blow, an accountant convicted of stealing R40 million from Sunnyridge SuperSpar and R11 million from Despatch SuperSpar between 2020 and 2022.
In a separate case, former Warrant Officer Claude Ince was sentenced to 12 years in prison for soliciting bribes in exchange for destroying evidence and withdrawing charges against suspects.
Despite these successes, Lebeya emphasized that combating national priority crimes remains an ongoing challenge that requires continued commitment and collaboration.
