An investigation into alleged municipal fraud has widened to a R9.9 million electricity-reconnection syndicate in Emfuleni Municipality, with police revealing that a 25-year-old woman was the alleged mastermind.
The investigation which began with allegations of R424 000 in municipal fraud has evolved to an electricity syndicate linked to about R9.9m in losses at the cash-strapped municipality.
At the centre of the widening investigation is 25-year-old Janitha van Reenen Coetzee, who was arrested on May 20 in the separate R424 000 fraud case. She later secured R10 000 bail from the High Court and was released on Thursday, September 3, before being rearrested outside the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on new charges linked to the alleged latest electricity syndicate.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the electricity investigation grew out of the fraud case against Coetzee, after investigators began examining evidence linked to her.
Investigators analysed Coetzee’s cellphone and uncovered WhatsApp conversations containing evidential material involving suspects who had already been arrested. They also identified bank transactions that formed part of the investigation.
