Seven people arrested in connection with an illegal electricity reconnection scam in the Emfuleni Municipality are expected to apply for bail in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court in the Vaal on Wednesday.
They are facing charges of fraud, theft, money laundering and tampering with essential infrastructure.
The accused include municipal employees and contractors.
It is alleged that between February 2024 and June 2026 they offered to reconnect the electricity supply of disconnected residents and businesses in exchange for payment.
The municipality says it lost R 8.3 million due to the scam.
Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana says, “What they will allegedly do is approach those unsuspecting individuals and promise to reconnect their electricity at a cost, so they were defrauding the municipality by reconnecting electricity for complainants whose accounts were shut by the municipality. The investigation is ongoing; more suspects can be arrested if the investigation leads us there.”
