The ex-wife of a man tied to National Lotteries Commission (NLC) fraud had part of her divorce settlement seized by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).
Tintswalo Chauke and Alfred Sigudla divorced in 2021, and on Wednesday, the SIU secured a protection order on the proceeds of a property settlement.
Money meant for homes
The SIU had earlier established that it was one of two purchased using funds misappropriated from the NLC.
A non-profit company chaired by Sigudla was granted R23 million in NLC funding in 2018, intended for the construction of homes for the elderly in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.
The SIU established that after receiving the funding, Sigudla moved a portion of the money to his business account to purchase the two properties.
Sigudla’s Midstream Estate property was frozen by the SIU in June, with the second property in Copperleaf Golf Estate subject to this week’s preservation order.
“The property in Copperleaf Golf Estate, purchased for approximately R800 000 using funds earmarked for community development, was co-owned by Sigudla and Chauke in 2018 and was subsequently transferred to Chauke as part of their divorce settlement.
“Further investigations have revealed that the proceeds from the sale of this property, amounting to R2 550 000, currently reside in Chauke’s bank account,” stated SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
December SIU successes
This is the SIU’s sixth high-profile operation in December alone.
Last week, officials raided multiple properties in KZN and Gauteng in connection with a R161 million Unemployment Insurance Fund Covid-19 era fraud syndicate.
On 9 December, the SIU secured a preservation order against a luxury property and a motor vehicle in Polokwane, linked to alleged bribery and corruption in a R54 million Eskom tender.
Earlier in December, 16 KZN education department officials were implicated in the irregular awarding of a R2.5 million mobile toilet tender, while another preservation order was granted in relation to a R27 million personal protective equipment tender from June 2020.
Lastly, the SIU recovered almost R15 million from various provincial transport departments in connection with vehicle registration and driver licensing fraud.
NOW READ: Here is how much the SIU recovered from vehicle and drivers licensing corruption investigation
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