Hawks Head Godfrey Lebeya Says Organisation is Investigating 22 447 Corruption Cases Totalling R1.5 Trillion

• The Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya says the crime-fighting organisation is dealing with over 20 000 cases of financial crime
• Some of these cases involve matters of corruption, with the first going to trial on 23 August
• Some South Africans have weighed on the Hawks' latest press release and are frustrated that there is no real update on the Phala Phala matter

JOHANNESBURG - The Hawks have updated South Africans on the corruption cases it has been dealing with this year. The crime-fighting organisation revealed on Tuesday, 23 August, that it is currently handling 22 477 cases and over 500 000 charges.

Hawks head Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya gave an account of the organisation's milestones and outlined the cases the Hawks have dealt with since his appointment in 2018.

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Lebeya highlighted that the cases amount to approximately R1.5 trillion and 23 519 suspects are being probed for their involvement in various crimes, according to TimesLIVE.

Lebeya added that over 12 000 are going to appear in court, and three are expected to make court appearances on 23 August. Over 11 000 matters are still pending, while 1 998 cases are at the National Prosecuting Authority awaiting confirmation for trial.

VBS Mutual Bank case goes to trial

A total of 27 suspects are scheduled to appear in court from 3 October to 3 December to face more than 188 corruption charges, according to SowetanLIVE. The VBS Mutual Bank corruption case is one of the cases, and is scheduled for 3 October.

Other suspects are being charged for being in contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) for investing municipal funds into VBS Mutual Bank.

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More suspects are expected to be arrested during the investigation, according to Lebeya, as approximately 20 municipalities in Limpopo, North West, and Gauteng lost nearly R1.6 billion after illegally investing with the bank.

Here's what South Africans had to say about the Hawks press conference:

@Mxm79736529 said:

"So this is the amount cadres stole? Just rope in the best detectives from around the world."

@pdrrmm said:

"Comrades have eaten..."

@ALETTAHA said:

"They must stop talking and get busy."

@Zip_063 said:

"The same Hawks and NPA that are blue-ticking the crime that happened in #PhalaPhalaFarmGate..."

Hawks arrest 11 suspects for theft of R2m Eskom aluminium in Witbank, Mpumalanga

Briefly News previously reported that the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, its Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) and Crimes Against the State (CATS) sections, and other law enforcement players arrested 11 suspects for stealing Eskom infrastructure in Mpumalanga on Tuesday.

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Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Sekgotodi told Briefly News that the incident happened in Vosman, a suburb of Witbank situated between Hlalanikahle and Ferrobank. Sekgotodi said:

"Security personnel caught the suspects stealing aluminium from Eskom's power line. They had taken advantage after load transmission was halted by technicians servicing the power lines."

Source: Briefly News