This week our case is about Nikluis Manuel.
He is a businessman who submitted fraudulent information, 662 ghost employee numbers and fabricated documentation in order to defraud funds intended to benefit workers during Covid-19.
A R74.00 bank account balance remained in Manuel’s bank account after he used 662 ghost workers to claim R19.1 Million for Covid-19 Temporary Employee-Employer Relief Scheme.
Investigations found that his company did not have a single employee, did not comply with legal requirements and it was effectively “none-existent”.
NakoMang Trading Enterprise CC was the name of his business. This business was not registered when it applied and received the first TERS amount of R22,234,80 in May 2020. The company was only registered as a business in May 2023.
Unemployment Insurance Fund made 11 payments into Manuel’s bank account from May 2020 until October 2023 under the impression that his documents were not fraudulent.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was granted a preservation order by the Special Tribunal to recover the money from Manuel and his associates, who include his partner Khanyi Angel Nokukhanya.
Manuel transferred over R570,000 to Khanyi in order to facilitate the purchase of an apartment in Turfontein in October 2023.
SIU Spokesperson Makgotho said “the phase of their work is to trace the money and apply for preservation to recoup the lost funds. The second phase, review proceedings, involves sending subpoenas to witnesses to make oral and written statements which will be used during prosecution.”
DISCLAIMER! This content is for educational and informational purposes based on publicly available information.
Source: Times Live