Only a R74 balance remained in Nikluis Manuel’s bank account five years after he used 662 ghost workers to claim R19.1m for Covid-19 employee relief fund.
Manuel allegedly used bogus documents to swindle the Temporary Employee-Employer Relief Scheme (Ters) during the outbreak of Covid-19.
Ters was meant to enable the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to assist employers to pay their employees who have no income or lost some income during the pandemic.
Through the company search, Sowetan has now established that his company, NakoMang Trading Enterprise CC, had not been 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.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was recently granted a preservation order by the Special Tribunal to recoup the money from Manuel and his associates, who include his partner Khanyi Angel Nokukhanya, to whom Manuel transferred over R570,000 to facilitate the purchase of an apartment in Turfontein in October 2023.
The SIU intends to trace the money and also attach houses and cars that were bought through the proceeds of the Ters money collected by Manuel.
SIU spokesperson Selby Makgotho said the case forms part of a much broader probe into fraudulent claims linked to Ters, with the overall value of R148m.
“The scheme was highly intricate, involving the submission of falsified information, including inflated employee numbers and fabricated documentation. Investigators conducted a comprehensive probe, which included analysing bank statements, interrogating financial records, subpoenaing documents, and interviewing witnesses,” said Makgotho.
UIF made 11 deposits into Manuel’s bank account from May 2020 until October 2023.
“The account had R74 when we started the investigation ... This was a very complex scheme that defrauded funds intended to benefit workers during Covid-19. Unfortunately, the money was looted,” Makgotho added.
He said Manuel submitted fraudulent application on behalf of 662 ghost employees. However, investigation discovered that the company did not have a single employee and did not comply with legal requirements and was effectively “none-existent”.
“These are some of the irregularities we uncovered during the investigation, including non-compliance, funds being allocated without proper monitoring, and indications that the system was tampered with or infiltrated. The registration payments may even have been processed before the company was formally registered,” said Makgotho
When a Sowetan team visited the company’s offices in Sunninghill, northern Johannesburg, we learnt that the “business” had vacated the building about four years ago.
An employee who works for the office park landlord said Manuel’s company only used the premises for occasional meetings and largely operated as a virtual entity.
“Those people stopped coming here four years ago after investigators and the Hawks arrived with firearms and boxes. We told them the company may have used this address, but they were rarely here unless they had meetings, and we could not direct them to a specific office,” the employee said.
The SIU has since submitted criminal referrals to the NPA for further action.
“The Special Investigating Unit does not have the authority to effect arrests; however, criminal matters have been referred to the NPA for consideration and possible prosecution,” Makgotho said.
He added that 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.
Sowetan
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