The Special Investigating Unit's health sector anti-corruption forum has prioritised allegations of fraud and corruption in the region of R3bn related to the R500bn the government allocated to ease the impact of COVID-19, reports TimesLIVE.
To date, 20 allegations of serious maladministration, fraud and corruption have been reported to the forum.
The forum comprises various structures, including civil society and law enforcement agencies and is convened by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) under the chairmanship of its head, Andy Mothibi. The SIU said the forum had prioritised all allegations of fraud and corruption related to COVID-19. Without mentioning specific investigations, it said a number of outcomes have been achieved so far: criminal referrals have been made for prosecutions; civil action to the value of R10.6m have been instituted against implicated officials; more than 70 lifestyle audits were being conducted on implicated officials, and 147 investigations have been completed on health professionals who were unlawfully registered.
“There are currently 45 health sector related cases that are at an advanced stages of investigation by the Hawks. The total amount of these 45 cases amount to more than R3bn.”
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-07-02-siu-probing-allegations-of-corruption-linked-to-r500bn-covid-19-fund/"]Full TimesLIVE report[/link]