Pretoria - The police's elite investigations unit, the Hawks, says it has arrested four suspects - including a former Land Bank CEO and a former housing MEC in Gauteng in connection with fraud, theft and money laundering.
In a statement on Tuesday, the unit said the arrests followed an extensive investigation which began in 2008, when it became apparent that some of the money that was allocated to the Land Bank to fund Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises, was being used for other purposes than intended.
"R100 million was paid into the AgriBEE Fund. Our investigation shows that R19 million of this was paid into a firm of attorneys. Of this, we will present evidence to show that R14 million was used to buy, among others, houses and cars - which is not what the fund was intended for," the statement said.
The Hawks said two suspects were arrested in Polokwane, another in Bella Bella, and the fourth handed himself over at the Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria.
They will appear in the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria Wednesday. - BuaNews
