The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) says they are expecting more arrests in the temporary relief fund fraud case involving the owner of Impossible Services Company. Thabo Simbini appeared briefly in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday.
His case was postponed to the 29th of next month for further investigations.
The National Prosecuting Authority earlier said Simbini claimed through his company, Impossible Services, that the employment of 6647 employees had been terminated in October. However, the company had only one employee, Simbini alone. Impossible Services was paid out more than R110-million based on dubious claims. He allegedly used people’s IDs fraudulently to claim for UIF and relief benefits without their knowledge. The sting operation was arranged following a tip-off regarding Simbini’s activities.
UIF Spokesperson, Makhosonke Buthelezi, says a tip-off was received from one of the beneficiaries that the fraudster applied for.
“It was through the UIF’s effort that the fraudster who appeared in court today (Wednesday) was apprehended. This happened after we received a tip-off from one of the beneficiaries that the fraudster applied for. We then informed the Hawks who then led a sting operation that resulted in the arrest.”
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) says it will cooperate with law enforcement in this matter. The fund further says it expects more arrests following Simbini’s brief court appearance.
“Through the follow the money project that we started last week where we appointed a team of auditors. We believe that there are more arrests that are going to be made because through the complaints that we received from the public and the employees there has been a lot of such instances where applications were made on behalf of people who were not even employed.”
UIF’s new measures to prevent fraud:
In a related story, other workers who struggled to get their UIF monies took to the streets to voice their frustrations:
