Fumu Mkalira Msiska and his wife, Gladness Mkhonto Msiska, appeared in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court on fraud charges linked to the alleged siphoning of nearly R27 million from the UIF-TERS scheme through ghost employee claims.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says the net is closing in on Covid-19 relief fraudsters after suspects linked to the theft of more than R27 million from the UIF Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) were arrested, prosecuted and convicted, while luxury vehicles, properties and bank accounts were frozen pending possible forfeiture.
The crackdown includes a major Mpumalanga case in which nearly R26.9 million was allegedly siphoned from the UIF through “ghost employees”, as well as the conviction of a Free State businessman ordered to repay more than R200 000 fraudulently claimed from the scheme.
In the Mpumalanga matter, the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court heard allegations that Fumu Mkalira Msiska, his wife Gladness Mkhonto Msiska, and his brother-in-law Bongani Zoran Mkhonto used fabricated employee details and false claims to loot millions from the UIF-TERS fund during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The SIU said the High Court in Mpumalanga has already issued a preservation order against assets believed to be proceeds of crime. Authorities have secured three properties in Pretoria, Middelburg and White River, alongside bank accounts, equipment and household goods pending forfeiture proceedings.
