Arthur Fraser Claims He Received R50 Million Offer to Drop Phala Phala Case Weeks After Opening It
- Arthur Fraser has provided more details about the Phala Phala case and what led him to open the case in 2022
- The former head of the State Security Agency also claimed that he was offered a lot of money to drop the case
- Fraser also disputed the amount that was reportedly stolen from President Cyril Ramaphosa's farm, saying it was more
Source: Facebook
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
GAUTENG – Arthur Fraser has claimed that he was offered more than R50 million to drop the Phala Phala case shortly after he opened it.
The Phala Phala scandal made headlines in 2022, when Fraser, who is a former head of the State Security Agency, filed a criminal complaint at the Rosebank Police Station. He alleged that millions in foreign currency were stolen from the president’s game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
Fraser not only claimed that the crime was covered up, but also that the suspects were allegedly kidnapped and paid to keep quiet about the matter. Three suspects have since appeared in court for the matter.
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Fraser provides more details about Phala Phala
In an exclusive interview with journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika, for his upcoming podcast Unpopular Opinion, Fraser described the first time he received information about theft.
Fraser sat down for the interview after the Constitutional Court ruled that the National Assembly acted unconstitutionally when it rejected a report into the matter. The report, which was released in November 2022, concluded that there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have committed serious violations of the Constitution and the law. It ruled that this justified an impeachment inquiry, but the African National Congress used its majority in Parliament to vote against adopting the recommendations.
Looking back at the scandal, Fraser said that he was offered R50 million to drop the case. He told wa Afrika that this happened two weeks after he opened the case at the station.
He also explained that several individuals, with knowledge of the matter, approached him because of his intelligence background. He said the individuals were deeply disturbed and reached out to him long before he opened the case.
“They said, ‘Do you know the president is involved in this thing? And this is bad,” Fraser said.
“One person asked me to actually pull the trigger because we should not have a president who is involved in the type of activities that they were involved in,” he recalled.
He added that he spent months testing the information before acting on it.
Fraser disputes the amount of money stolen
While the official trial and investigation centred on an amount of $580,000, Fraser argued that it was far more. He said that individuals familiar with the matter told him that the amount exceeded $2-million. He also explained that payments were made after the theft, which raised more questions.
“Remember the bribery. When they paid these people, it was not in dollars; it was in rands. But the amount that was stolen was in dollars.”
“So, it means that there’s more money in rands that was available and that was being given to people. So there’s more money laundering taking place here. You mustn’t be narrow on this thing.”
Source: Facebook
What you need to know about the Phala Phala case
- The NPA announced that it would not prosecute anyone related to the Phala Phala scandal.
- The NPA encouraged parties to make use of the review process if they were unhappy with the decision.
- President Ramaphosa was grilled in Parliament in October 2024 about the Phala Phala saga, but he maintained his innocence.
- Police Minister Senzo Mchunu confirmed that IPID’s report into Phala Phala was marked as top secret.
- ActionSA demanded transparency regarding Phala Phala and wanted access to IPID’s report.
- The MK Party wanted the report to be made public, but citizens wanted all the focus on Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations first.
IPID blames technical issues for Phala Phala report delay
Briefly News reported that IPID blamed an email issue in June 2025 as the reason why it did not release the Phala Phala report.
Senzo Mchunu noted that the report was marked as top secret by IPID, but ActionSA requested to have it made public.
South Africans were left in disbelief at the excuse conjured up by IPID as to why it couldn't respond to ActionSA's request.
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Source: Briefly News
