Man arrested for fraud of R4.7m meant for Gugulethu upgrades

27 September 2019 - 14:17
By IAVAN PIJOOS
A former project manager at Elgablox allegedly made transfers to people who were not related to the building upgrades.
Image: 123rf/ Allan Swart A former project manager at Elgablox allegedly made transfers to people who were not related to the building upgrades.

The Hawks have arrested a 65-year-old man for fraud of more than R4.7m. The cash was meant for building upgrades in Cape Town.

Capt Philani Nkwalase said the department of arts and culture allocated funds for the upgrading of the Ray Alexander Simons Memory Centre buildings in Gugulethu.

Nkwalase said more than R13m was approved as financial assistance for the project, but an amount of R6.8m was paid to Elgablox to kick-start the renovations.

The former project manager at Elgablox allegedly misused the funds by making transfers to people and entities that were not related to the upgrading of the buildings, Nkwalase said.

The transactions were made between March 23 and May 2 2014.

The man was arrested in East London, Eastern Cape, on Monday.

He is expected to appear in the specialised commercial crimes court in Bellville on October 25.