- There are now nine accused in the Free State human settlements fraud case.
- Three more people were arrested for their alleged role in defrauding the department out of R7.9m.
- The trio were released on bail of between R1 500 and R2 000 each.
Two more former human settlements officials, including another man, in the Free State have been charged in connection with defrauding the department of R7.9 million over two years.
Senki Samuel Ketlhoilwe, 51, and Thwala Caroline Letanta, 54, along with Vincent Eric Beans, 55, appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Monday, where they face charges of fraud, corruption and theft.
They were released on bail of between R1 500 and R2 000 each.
The Hawks said Ketlhoilwe was arrested on Saturday, Letanta on Sunday, while Beans was arrested in the early hours of Monday, by the Hawks' Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Bloemfontein.
The trio joins their co-accused, Ketlhwoecoeng Mildred Setlaba, 45, Motebang Frank Mokoena, 45, Sarah Bantikile Saila, 63, Muso David Makae, 62, Meshack Modise Tlokotsi, 54, and Thato Goodwill Sempe, 50, who were arrested last Thursday and granted bail on Friday.
It's alleged that while working in the department's payment authorisation section, Ketlhoilwe, Letanta and Setlaba entered into unauthorised and irregular negotiations with some of the service providers of the department between 2011 and 2012.
"They allegedly used the Housing Subsidy System (HSS) to identify old projects of the financial years from 2008 to 2009 which still have the remaining allocated budget.
"They solicited and received gratification in the form of cash amounts from the service providers in exchange for the facilitation of falsified and undue claim payments which were processed through financial processes of the department," said Hawks spokesperson Captain Christopher Singo.
Singo said it was also alleged that the three officials received over R520 000 from various service providers. The department was said to have lost approximately R7.9 million as a result of the false claims.
All nine accused are expected back in court on 3 September.