Police have set their sights on arresting more people they believe were linked to an ongoing fraud and corruption investigation in the City’s Human Settlements directorate.
Eight people, including a 46-year-old, were arrested this week in what police have described as a significant milestone in this major investigation.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said the 46-year-old man was arrested on Monday in the Eastern Cape while three other suspects were arrested in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
“As part of a protracted investigation into alleged fraudulent and corrupt activities at the City of Cape Town’s Human Settlements directorate, the Western Cape SAPS commercial crimes unit detectives with the Anti Gang Unit’s organised crime investigators swooped on a location in the Eastern Cape where they arrested the suspect on Monday evening.
“The arrest follows an investigation initiated by commercial crimes detectives that saw the investigators descending on the City of Cape Town offices in March 2023 and seizing a number of items as part of their probe.
“Meanwhile, as this investigation unfolds, another team from the same police units also arrested three other suspects in Johannesburg early on Tuesday morning.
With the take-down operation progressing, four other suspects were also arrested in Cape Town on Tuesday,” said Potelwa.
The four suspects arrested outside the city were being brought to Cape Town where they are expected to join other suspects and appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The suspects were arrested on charges that relate to money laundering, racketeering, corruption and extortion fraud.
Potelwa said the possibility of more arrests “cannot be ruled out”. Regarding the recent arrests, the City said: “The City notes the arrests. It has long been supporting the SAPS investigation, and will monitor the court proceedings.”
Former human settlements mayco member, Malusi Booi, was fired from his position having been implicated in the investigation.
He was among the people who had his electronics confiscated when police raided his offices last year.
Attempts to obtain comment from Booi were unsuccessful.
Cape Times