MPUMALANGA – A 56-year-old suspect Micheal Chimazi, formerly sought by the Hawks, has been remanded in custody by the Nelspruit Regional Court on Thursday after he handed himself in at the Hawks’ provincial offices in Mpumalanga on the same day.
Chimazi was circulated as sought through the media a week ago, for alleged fraud and money laundering offenses committed between 2013-2014 whereby Eskom allegedly incurred losses of almost a R1.3 Million. The case has been postponed to Thursday 17 April 2019 for his bail application to be heard.
Hawks’ investigations have linked Chimazi to four other accused in this case, David Mthethwa (71), and wife Boniswa Mthethwa (54), who are suppliers and two former Eskom employees, Mwabisa Ngxoba (35) as well as Cenderella Moropane (37).
It is alleged that between 2013-2014 Chimazi and the Eskom employees worked in cahoots with the suppliers (the Mthethwas) whose authorisation certificate had apparently expired, they submitted fraudulent invoices to Eskom for fabricated services. The money paid into the suppliers account was then transferred in a series of unlawful transactions into the syndicate’s different accounts including that of their family members.
The initial arrests were effected in January 2018 and the group were charged accordingly. The four suspects are out on R5 000.00 bail each and their case is expected to resume on the 10th of June 2019.
