MBOMBELA  – The fifth suspect, 56-year-old Micheal Chimazi, who was sought by the Hawks in the Eskom fraud case, was remanded in custody by the Nelspruit Regional Court on Thursday, after he had handed himself over to the unit’s provincial office on the same day.

The search for Chimazi made headlines in the media a week ago. He is wanted for alleged fraud and money laundering offenses committed in 2013 and 2014 in which Eskom incurred losses estimated at almost a R1,3 million. The case has been postponed to Thursday, April 17, for formal bail application.

A Hawks’ investigation has linked Chimazi to the four other accused in the same case. They are David Mthethwa (71) and his wife Boniswa Mthethwa (54), both suppliers, and two former Eskom employees, Mwabisa Ngxoba (35) and Cenderella Moropane (37).

It is alleged that Chimazi, Ngxoba and Moropane conspired with the Mthethwas, whose authorisation certificate had apparently expired, by submitting fraudulent invoices to Eskom for bogus services. The money, paid into the Mthetwas account, was then transferred via a series of unlawful transactions into the syndicate’s various accounts which included those of  family members.

The initial arrests took place January 2018, and the four accused were charged accordingly. They are currently out on R5 000 bail each, and their case is expected to resume on June 10, 2019.

Editor: Anchen Coetzee
Subeditor: Lynette Brink
Submitted by: Capt Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi