Suspects accused of defrauding Mpumalanga Education Dept due in court

Suspects accused of defrauding Mpumalanga’s Education Department in an alleged multi-million-rand fraud scheme are expected to appear before the Nelspruit Magistrates Court on Monday.

A total of 27 people were detained during a Hawks operation, carried out across Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo and the Western Cape on Sunday.

Those arrested include nine department officials, 14 service providers and four others, allegedly linked to the fraudulent activities.

The suspects are accused of submitting false and inflated invoices for services rendered to the department, dating back more than five years.

Hawks spokesperson Magonseni Nkosi said more arrests are imminent.

“Following a lengthy investigation on the irregularities within the Department of Education in Mpumalanga, we, as the host, can confirm that today, we conducted a takedown operation whereby 27 suspects were arrested. Our operation still continues.  We are hoping to get the other remaining suspects arrested in due course.”