By Defenceweb
The Hawks are investigating five cases of fraud, theft and corruption in the South African Navy worth nearly R500m.
This was revealed by the Hawks during a presentation recently to MPs in parliament’s portfolio committee on defence and military veterans.
Updating the committee on its cases pertaining to the defence portfolio, the Hawks said nine cases involve the department of defence, four involve the department of military veterans and one relates to material irregularities.
The cases go back as far as 2009 and were passed to the Hawks in the wake of seemingly stonewalled investigations by military police. Deputy police minister Polly Boshielo told the committee that the military police took a long time to refer cases, and then military officers refused to co-operate with them.
One navy case being investigated by the Hawks deals with fraud and corruption in a contract for maintenance and repairs to navy surface and subsurface vessels for a period of three years. It is alleged that the service provider tampered with bid documents using Tipp-Ex and that amounts were altered and signatures forged on the bidding documents.
“It is alleged that the appointment of the service provider whose documents were tampered with was irregular. The total amount of the tender was R52m.” The case was reported by the military police in 2018 and referred to the Hawks in July 2024. To date 42 statements have been taken to support corruption and fraud charges in this investigation.
Fraud and theft are suspected in another navy contract to supply the navy with spares for surface and submarine vessels for a period of three years. The contract, awarded in 2017/2018, is valued at R395m. “Internal investigations reveal that the service provider supplied the SA Navy with sub-standard spares, claiming the spares were procured in Germany while they were procured locally,” the Hawks stated. The case was reported by the military police in 2018 and referred to the Hawks in mid-2024. Witness statements are being obtained.
A third case involves fraud and theft in the awarding of a tender for service and repairs of the minesweeper SAS Umzimkhulu’s engine at Simon’s Town between 2016 and 2018. Internal investigation revealed that the service provider submitted a false Dyno Testing Certificate belonging to the SAS Umhloti. It is further evident that the services were never rendered by the service provider, the Hawks stated. The case was reported by the military police in 2020 and referred to the Hawks in July last year. It remains under investigation, with 25 statements obtained so far. Cape Town-based GRIMMS was paid R30m between 2016 and 2018, the Sunday Times reported in 2023, stating the allegedly false testing certificate led to the SAS Umzimkhulu being unserviceable.
Another case involves the SAS Umzimkhulu, covering invoices submitted for work done between November 2015 and February 2021. The service provider was paid R16m without the navy knowing that services were never rendered — something confirmed by an internal investigation. This case was reported by the military police in 2021 and referred to the Hawks in July last year. Seven statements have been obtained in the ongoing investigation. According to the Sunday Times, the R16m contract was awarded to GRIMMS. GRIMMS founder Shafiek Hendricks has dismissed the allegations.
GRIMMS has also been fingered for fraud and theft involving engine repairs on the SAS Drakensberg in 2021 amounting to R3.8m. “After receiving an invoice from the service provider, the officials processed the invoices while no work was done by the service provider. It was later discovered that there was no completion certificate,” the Hawks stated. The case, referred to the Hawks in July 2024, is still ongoing.
- This article was first published by DefenceWeb
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