CAPE TOWN – Five suspects were arrested on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering following a joint operation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in the Eastern and Western Cape.
The accused — Faris Monan (37), Sihaam Tifloen (37), Nicholas Cloete (46), Edward Marais (59) and Anthea Marais (48) — appeared before the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Monan, Tifloen and Cloete were each granted bail of R50,000, while Edward and Anthea Marais were remanded in custody. The case was postponed to Wednesday, 28 January 2026.
According to Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba, the alleged offences occurred between 2015 and 2018. During this period, Pro Khaya, a construction company based in Gqeberha, sought to expand its operations to Cape Town and appointed one of the accused, a qualified quantity surveyor, as a branch manager.
Fumba said the branch manager allegedly abused his position by establishing a private company that offered the same services as the parent company.
“He allegedly identified and worked with subcontractors who colluded with him by submitting fictitious invoices to Pro Khaya for payment,” Fumba said.
The subcontractors are alleged to have then transferred portions of the funds back to the branch manager’s private company. Hawks investigators estimate the financial loss suffered by the company to be approximately R12 million.
Fumba added that the investigation is ongoing and that further arrests are expected.
