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- Five officials were arrested at work for their alleged involvement in motor vehicle licence fee corruption.
- So far, 15 officials have been arrested in the case.
- They face 603 charges of corruption, fraud, and money laundering.
Five more Mpumalanga licencing officials have been arrested for the R60-million motor vehicle licence fee dumping corruption case.
They were arrested on Tuesday at the Mashishing, Delmas, and Piet Retief licencing offices.
This brings to 15 the number of people arrested in the matter. Six administrators were arrested in July and are out on R15 000 bail. Four others were arrested in September.
Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) spokesperson Simon Zwane said it was alleged that officials conspired with employees from the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security, and Liaison's eNatis helpdesk section to fraudulently issue vehicle licence discs.
They allegedly unlawfully and intentionally printed licence discs on the official face-value documents that showed R0.00 had been paid.
READ | 3 Mpumalanga officials held in R60 million fraud, theft and money laundering case
According to Zwane, some of those arrested were clerks at registering authorities in Mpumalanga.
"They are alleged to have colluded with corrupt administrators, who worked at the helpdesk of the Department of Community Safety and Liaison to conduct illicit transactions that cost the state a loss of R60 million in unpaid licence fees and penalties."
He said the arrests followed investigations by the RTMC's National Anti-Corruption Unit, the Hawks and the Special Investigating Unit.
"The investigation revealed that, between 2018 and 2019, the suspects manipulated the eNatis system to assist motor vehicle owners to avoid payment of vehicle licence fees and penalties owed to the state.
"Their modus operandi involved changing the ownership of affected motor vehicles into the name of an unsuspecting individual, a deceased person or dormant company. Fees and arrear penalties will then be passed on to the unsuspecting individual or companies before vehicle ownership is changed back to the rightful owner without any debt."
He added that in some cases, fees were dumped onto government vehicles.
The suspects are expected to face 603 corruption, fraud, and money laundering charges when they appear in the Mbombela Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
