The Hawks have arrested a 37-year-old businessman in connection with an alleged tender fraud scheme involving more than R2 billion at Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng.
The suspect was taken into custody at OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday after returning to South Africa from an overseas trip.
He is facing allegations linked to fraud, corruption, money laundering and other related offences.
The businessman, who is believed to be a service provider, allegedly worked with officials from the Gauteng Department of Health to manipulate procurement processes and bypass the formal tender system.
Tembisa Hospital Fraud Investigation
The case forms part of a wider investigation into alleged financial misconduct at Tembisa Hospital.
The irregularities were first brought to wider attention by whistleblower Babita Deokaran, who was assassinated five years ago after raising concerns about suspicious payments involving the hospital.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) subsequently investigated the hospital’s procurement processes and last year revealed the scale of the alleged financial losses.
According to the SIU, three syndicates were allegedly involved in the looting of more than R2 billion from Tembisa Hospital.
The alleged syndicates were linked to businessmen Stefan Govindraju, Hangwani Maumela and Rudolph Mazibuko, together with their respective suppliers.
Thousands Of Suspicious Transactions Uncovered
Investigators found that payments were allegedly divided into smaller amounts to ensure transactions remained below the R500,000 threshold.
More than 4,000 transactions were identified during the investigation.
Some of the purchases highlighted in the investigation included R40,000 spent on four plastic buckets, while 2,000 hand towels were allegedly purchased for R230 each.
The investigation also flagged the purchase of 200 pairs of jeans at approximately R2,500 per pair.
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The transactions formed part of allegations that procurement rules were deliberately manipulated to avoid the normal competitive tender process.
Tembisa Hospital Fraud Suspect To Appear In Court
Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale confirmed that the arrested businessman is expected to appear in court on Monday.
“This approach was intentionally employed to circumvent the formal tender process. The suspect is to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court, facing charges related to fraud, corruption, and money laundering.”
The suspect’s identity has not yet been released.
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He is expected to be formally identified once he appears in the dock at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court.
The arrest represents the latest development in the long-running investigation into alleged corruption and procurement fraud at Tembisa Hospital.
