JOHANNESBURG – A suspect allegedly involved in multimillion-rand tender fraud at Tembisa Hospital has been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport upon his return from abroad.

The 37-year-old suspect was arrested on Friday 28 August. The arrest forms part of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (Hawks) serious corruption investigation efforts to ensure that those involved in the Tembisa Hospital saga are brought to book, said Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale.

Allegations in these Tembisa Hospital cases relate to fraud, corruption, forgery and/or uttering, contravention of the Public Finance Management Act, and money laundering.

It is alleged that certain officials at the hospital colluded with service providers to exploit the Request for Quotations system for procurement transactions below the R500 000 threshold. This approach was intentionally employed to circumvent the formal tender process.

The suspect is scheduled to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court, on Monday 31 August, facing charges related to fraud, corruption, and money laundering.

Assets confiscated

In July, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a forfeiture order for assets worth R326 million belonging to alleged members of the Maumela syndicate, one of three groups implicated in the Tembisa Hospital corruption case.

The forfeited assets include high-end residential properties in affluent areas and luxury vehicles. The Maumela syndicate is one of three groups accused of misappropriating R2 billion that had been earmarked for healthcare improvements at the Gauteng hospital.

A Special Investigating Unit investigation completed last year found that the syndicates allegedly diverted the funds through fraud and corruption between January 2019 and August 2022.

ALSO READ: Asset forfeiture unit seizes R326 million from Tembisa hospital corruption syndicate