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- Seven people were arrested in Cape Town for allegedly defrauding the UIF.
- The Hawks stepped in after an employee questioned a batch of payments.
- A UIF employee is among those arrested.
An Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) insider is among seven family members arrested for allegedly ripping off the UIF fund, according to the Hawks.
The investigation revealed that three of the claimants had already received part of the UIF benefits to the value of just more than R108 000, said Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani.
A UIF staffer discovered that three claimants did not work for Kasam Services, the pool cleaning company registered with the department as a UIF contributor. The trail then led to the wife of one of the claimants, who worked at the UIF.
"The other four claims were placed on hold when it came to the attention of the Department of Labour that these claims were fraudulent," said Hani.
It was referred to the Hawks for investigation, and Ismail Brown, 45; Mariam Brown, 44; Mogamat Anwar Majiet, 49; Noerudeen Brown, 44; Mogamat Igshaan Joharie, 44; Abdul Kariem Brown, 50; and Mogamat Shafiek Brown, 42, were arrested.
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According to the Hawks, the investigation revealed that the applications were submitted by Ismail Brown, brother of Abdul Brown, who is married to the director of the company.
"Mariam Brown is the wife of Noerudeen Brown, who is employed at the Department of Labour: Unemployment Insurance Fund as a client service officer, and is alleged to have ensured that the claims were processed," Hani added.
They face 18 charges of fraud, forgery, uttering and one charge of corruption for allegedly defrauding the fund.
They appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Thursday and were each granted R2 500 bail. They have to return to court on 15 May.
