A relentless law enforcement change agent leaves no stone unturned in the pursuit of justice and upholding the rule of law. This is the duty-bound Maj. Gen. Mokgadi Bokaba, current head of the Free State’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks.
She has been in this influential position since March 2022, and is the youngest woman in the country to hold this much sway as the provincial head of the elite crime fighting wing.
Bokaba’s career spans more than two decades, with special expertise in managing investigations in sophisticated, organised networks of serious commercial crime, ranging from money laundering, theft, fraud and corruption, to racketeering and tax fraud.
Valuable experience and knowledge acquired in the corporate and commercial banking sector has stood her in good stead to fulfil her mandate of fighting rampant organised financial crime with her Free State team.
Bokaba’s impact on the rife economic crime within the province, through criminal investigation, is playing out against the backdrop of public acknowledgement of women for their relentless pursuit of excellence this just-ended August, which celebrated the achievements made by women as agents of positive change in South Africa.
Bokaba has lead from the front in the goal of having South Africa removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) greylisting.
The global financial crime watchdog greylisted South Africa in February last year for not complying with international standards around the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
Leaving no stone unturned in the investigation against economic crime, several individuals were caught with their hand in the cookie jar, with prominent people being brought to book under the hawk-eyed Bokaba.
Her team even ensured sentencing in crimes dating back decades.
“My passion for law enforcement goes far beyond the South African borders.”
Testimony to this is a recent, major breakthrought in cross-border economic crimes including the South African Revenue Services’s (Sars) R653 500 455,28 tax fraud in imported consignments in the Free State and Lesotho.
Further probing has yielded the arrest of ten former and current Sars employees, ready to stand trial in the Bloemfontein Regional Court. The other is the R57 million defrauding of the Central Bank of Lesotho, committed between 2020 and 2021. The in-depth multifaced investigations has brought two South African citizens and ten Lesotho citizens, including an attorney, before the courts.
Thus far, R33 million has been recovered, along with three properties worth R2 million combined and three luxury vehicles (an Audi A5, Golf 6, and BMW X1) that have been returned to Lesotho government.
This is a result of collaboration by the South African Asset Forfeiture unit of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Hawks, Financial Intelligence Centre, and Lesotho’s Mounted Police Service and Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offenses (DCEO).
- A noteworthy tax fraud list in the Free State entailed the sentencing of businessman Ntsane Cecerion Mopeli (67) and his company, M2T Systems CC, for 23 counts of tax fraud committed between 2014 and 2017.
Through fraudulent activities of the company, Sars was prejudiced and suffered more than R27 million in losses.
Of that amount, R18,7 million was actual prejudice and the remaining R8,4 million was potential prejudice. The company had construction deals with the Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality.
Mopeli was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment, suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of a similar offence during that period. He was sentenced to three years’ correctional supervision.
In addition, he forfeited assets valued at R11 million after the Asset Forfeiture unit’s (AFU) successful application to the Free State High Court.
- A prominent fashion creative-director, Candida “Candy” Crystal Smith, was slapped with a suspended sentence with an option to either pay a fine of R300 000 or three years’ imprisonment for tax fraud. She was ordered to repay the difference of the R472 701 which Sars was prejudiced.
Added to the tax fraud list are the controversial Buthelezi EMS ambulance owners who, reportedly, benefited from a lucrative R1 billion deal with the provincial Department of Health. Alleged fraud in false tax returns occurred between 2014 and 2019, and Sars reportedly suffered a loss of R132 million. The money recovered is reportedly R100 million in the ongoing matter.
Probing uncovered Standard Bank was defrauded of more than R26 million, resulting in the arrest of ten suspects. More than R7 million has been forfeited.
- Get-rich quick scammers were also caught.
Albert David Titus of Ladybrand got 11 years’ direct imprisonment for defrauding 12 victims who invested a cumulative R900 000 with the accused, who had promised a 20% monthly interest for investing on their behalf.
One victim lost R100 000. Caleb Ntuli received seven years’ direct imprisonment and his scheme, Tshwaranang Stokvel, a fine of R1,7 million for defrauding more than 250 people between 2016 and 2019. He promised investors an interest return of 30% to 50% within a period of 30 days and the victims lost more than R8 million combined.
Lebohang Ernest Maboea and Neo Patrick Makhokolo, founders of the bogus Black Child Billionaire scheme, received sentences ranging from three years to 17 years.
The latter was ordered to repay one victim R18 000.
Investors, mostly from Phuthaditjhaba in the eastern Free State, lost more than R500 000 invested with the promise of getting between 25% and 100% in returns, within 30 days during 2018 and 2019.
Four former workers of the Tsheseng Post Office in Qwaqwa are on trial for allegedly defrauding the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) of more than R8 million. Probing discovered suspects used a church’s account at the post office.
The suspects have forfeited four vehicles, in addition to money in their various bank accounts.
