THREE men, who were arrested for allegedly stealing R4.5 million from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, were granted bail in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Friday.
Yogendren Pillay, 40, Rowen Moodley, 35, and Mohan Kumar Guddanti, 38, who were charged with money laundering, were each granted R20 000 bail.
Lieutenant-Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo, spokesperson for the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal, said the accused were arrested in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
He said they would join three others, Prajeev Maharaj, 31, and Navin Ramsewak, 43, who are out on bail, as well as Mohammed Ismail Tshose, 41, currently in custody, at their next appearance in October.
They were arrested on charges of fraud, theft, and money laundering to the value of about R7.3 million in February.
“It is alleged that on April 6, 2023, fraudulent payments were made from the Department of Justice banking system to businesses that were not entitled to receive the funds. An amount of R17 782 132.59 was fraudulently transferred from the Guardian Fund held by the department.
"A case of fraud was reported at Pietermaritzburg police station and the case docket was allocated to the Hawks members for intensive investigation,“ said Mhlongo.
He added, Hawks members worked together with the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit and Financial Intelligence Centre to recover more that R8 million of stolen funds.