Two people accused of defrauding the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) of over R3 million are expected to appear in the Malamulele Regional Court in Limpopo.
Dorris Mashimbye and her husband William Khosa allegedly claimed the money on behalf of 242 former Expanded Public Works Programme, however, the workers were never paid.
The workers were attached to Mtititi-Drop-In Centre outside Malamulele.
Mashimbye and Khosa are facing charges of fraud, theft and money laundering.
The accused allegedly pocketed the funds and have been granted bail of R20 000 each.
UIF introduces measures to eliminate fraud:
The UIF TERS benefit scheme is a lifeline for businesses that cannot afford to pay salaries to their employees due to being shut down as part of the COVID-19 restrictions.
The UIF says 4 116 people have applied for relief thus far. About half of them have been rejected due to stringent verification checks that have been introduced since the Auditor General found last year that millions of rand had been paid to wrong people including prisoners and deceased individuals.
The current round of TERS payments will benefit affected workers in restaurants, cinemas, theatres, hotels and casinos, among many others.
Assessing UIF temporary employee relief scheme payments:
