- A 29-year-old businessman appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in relation to charges that he allegedly defrauded the UIF Covid-19 fund of R150 million.
- The matter was postponed for investigations for a second time.
- Thabo Simbini's defence attorney said his client had still not been charged with fraud and was only facing one count of bribery.
The matter against a 29-year-old businessman who was allegedly caught bribing a labour department official and defrauding the UIF Covid-19 fund to the tune of R150 million has been postponed for further investigation.
Thabo Simbini, the owner of a company called Impossible Solutions, was arrested earlier this year in an undercover operation by the Hawks.
It is alleged that he made fraudulent claims from the UIF Covid-19 TERS on behalf of people who were not working for him.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said it's believed the company had already received R150 million at the time of Simbini's arrest.
In November, the matter was postponed for the State to register a fraud docket against Simbini as well as for further investigations.
On Wednesday, Simbini briefly appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court and the matter was postponed again for investigations.
Following the court appearance, Simbini's defence attorney told the media his client had still not formally been charged with fraud and he had appeared in court on a charge of bribery.
The dead, people too young to work, UIF employees and Sassa beneficiaries looted almost R120 million from the Covid-19 TERS benefit between 1 April and 30 September. | @gerbjan https://t.co/6pVhKzhIqx
— News24 (@News24) November 9, 2020
He added that the State's case was currently weak.
The matter was postponed to 29 January 2021.
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