A 39-year-old office manager from the Eastern Cape Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has been apprehended for allegedly masterminding a fuel card fraud operation worth R150,000, involving several government vehicles.
The Hawks’ Serious Corruption Crime Investigation unit, based in Komani, alongside the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), executed a J175 warrant on January 14, leading to the arrest of the Cogta office manager accused of defrauding public funds.
The charges stemmed from a complaint filed by the Assistant Director of Security Management and Anti-Corruption Services at Cogta, who raised concerns about possible “fruitless and wasteful expenditure” related to fuel usage.
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Reports indicated that the office manager had misused a departmental fleet card, originally designated for official vehicle refueling.
Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba, a police spokesperson, stated that an investigation revealed significant inconsistencies between the recorded kilometers traveled and the fuel consumed during the period from April to August 2022.
Further inquiry uncovered a fraudulent scheme where the suspect allegedly used the fleet card to refuel a designated vehicle, then returned with a different vehicle to refuel again using the same card. This practice caused a financial loss of over R150,000 to the department.
The case, initially flagged internally, was handed over to the Hawks, who uncovered the full scale of the irregularities.
The accused is scheduled to appear in court at Cofimvaba Magistrate’s Court on January 31.
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