In the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year, 673 suspects “involved in high-profile cases” were arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks).
The directorate remained committed to its mandate of investigating, preventing, and combating national priority offences, said Hawks Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya at a media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday.
The Hawks were handling more than 18,461 cases involving R1.26- trillion, he said.
Lebeya noted that 77% of 673 arrested people were South African, with only 23% being foreign nationals.
He highlighted cases, such as the BHI Trust Ponzi scheme in which individuals invested more than R2.8bn, with false promises of returns.
An investigation led to the conviction in May of Craig Roy Warriner to 25 years’ imprisonment on 206 counts of fraud and operating an investment scheme without a licence. The Hawks also arrested two others, Sona Pillay and Michael Phillip Adam Haldane. Both men appeared in court in June and were released on R100,000 bail. The case is set to continue in October.
According to Lebeya, the collaboration between the Hawks and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) “is bearing fruit”.
“At the end of the quarter under review, the [Hawks were] carrying 724 cases that affect Sars,” he said. This also saw 104 accused being convicted, with the courts ordering a total of R5.1m to be paid back to Sars.
Lebeya noted the Hawks’ success in tackling cybercrime, including a case in which a man posted on social media about a possible assassination attempt on President Cyril Ramaphosa in March this year. The Hawks investigation led to the arrest of Elrico Kaizer Kasper, who said his false claims about the assassination were because he was experiencing “frustration of unemployment”. In May, Kasper was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment for cyber fraud.
The Hawks boss detailed several investigations involving state officials. For example, two former Bellville police officials, Jonathan Plaatjies and Morne Fasser, were arrested by the Hawks, after an investigation into the selling of case dockets. In April, they were found guilty and sentenced to nine years imprisonment.
The Hawks also investigated Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) commissioner Nomsa Praisy Masuku, for allegedly awarding scholarships to friends and family members through manipulation of documents and without approval, while running Standard Bank’s corporate social investment programme. Masuku is out on bail and her case continues in September.
Lebeya provided an update on the case against former sport, arts & culture minister Zizi Kodwa, who was arrested on charges of receiving bribes amounting to R1.6m in June.
This followed findings in the state capture report that said Kodwa benefited from contracts worth more than R460m that the City of Johannesburg awarded to EOH Holdings to upgrade and maintain the metro’s software systems. Kodwa and former EOH boss Jehan Mackay appeared briefly in court and were released on R30,000 bail. The case continues in September.
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