Durban - The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Commissioner Teboho Maruping has issued a warning to company directors this week, after several companies who benefited from Covid-19 Ters (Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme) funds failed to co-operate with forensic auditors.
The auditors had made prior arrangements to visit their Durban premises to verify if monies were paid to workers.
The UIF said Maruping, who personally joined forensic auditors, was left frustrated by several seemingly errant companies that were non-co-operative and evasive.
He said he was dismayed by the treatment he and auditors received when they visited companies in and around Durban.
"It was disheartening to find a well-established company in Pinetown, with whom we made prior arrangements for the audit, not being ready to co-operate with us," said Maruping.
He added that at another company, also based in Pinetown, the group were locked out and “made to stand around like beggars”.
Maruping said this action was a form of disrespect to workers.
“The fact that this is happening during Workers’ Month spits in the face of the working class, and we won’t stand for that,” said Maruping.
The UIF said KwaZulu-Natal businesses received R9.2 billion of the total R62bn Covid-19 Ters allocation.
The money was intended to be paid to workers to sustain them during and after the Covid-19 lockdown periods.
Maruping added that the UIF would not hesitate to refer cases to the Hawks and the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority to freeze bank accounts and assets of non-co-operating companies.
He called on company directors to use the audit opportunity to demonstrate good corporate citizenry, and to exonerate themselves from any suspicion of wrongdoing.
The UIF said it has intensified work done on the "follow the money" project, with the aim of accounting to the Auditor-General of South Africa as well as other assurance, oversight and governance structures on the relief monies paid out to companies during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, the UIF deployed more than 360 auditors from seven companies with auditing, accounting, and forensic investigation to assist with the “follow the money” project. Since the beginning of 2022, more than 15 company directors have been criminally prosecuted for Covid-19 related fraud.
The longest direct imprisonment sentence remains a period of 135 years, which was meted out to Bookkeeper Lindelani Gumede after he was found guilty of 32 counts of Covid-19 fraud, amounting to R11 million.