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BABANE – Syndicates that forge government documents have reportedly infiltrated the judiciary.
Members of the group allegedly used forged documents to claim bail from the Treasury. The Journal’s investigation found that some people were asking the Treasury for money to pay bail for defendants who were seeking freedom while their cases were still pending. Investigations revealed that government documents were forged with the sole purpose of duplicating them in the Ministry of Finance and thereby defrauding the government.According to this, this publication learnt that the modus operandi was similar to that adopted by the Ministry of Interior. It was found that the fraudsters were colluding with government officials to obtain blank documents which were then copied and used for illegal activities.
document
By copying the document, the scammers reportedly obtained the names of individuals who had been granted bail and whose cases were pending in court. According to sources, the scammers are targeting deceased people who have been granted bail and whose cases have dragged on for too long. They are also targeting people whose cases have been closed but whose refunds have not been claimed, possibly because they were unaware of their rights to do so. The scammers reportedly worked with personnel in the Justice Department and the Treasury Department, where their contacts presumably shared information about unclaimed funds of those who were granted bail.
It was established that their contacts in the judicial department provided them with these documents for copying. It is speculated that the fraudsters’ contacts in the judicial department further assisted them in facilitating the process of recovering the unclaimed bail money. The process of recovering the bail money involves filing an application with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Affairs of the High Court, which is then sent to the Accounts Department of the High Court for approval and then to the Ministry of Finance. It is understood that the scammers bypassed this process and contacted the Ministry of Finance after forging documents. In one of the scams, the scammers are said to have obtained 5,000 Egyptian pounds from the Ministry of Finance for a defendant on bail.
The intricacies of the fraud were said to have been revealed when the accused, whose case had been concluded and who had been acquitted, went to collect his bail.
However, the person was told the money had been claimed and reported the matter to police. Officers from the Anti-Fraud Unit of the Royal Swaziland Police Service (REPS) launched an investigation.
The publication has learned that seven civil servants from Prince Simelani’s Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs have been questioned by law enforcement officials over these fraudulent activities. The publication has reported on various instances where government documents were copied by various entities. The forged documents included: Swaziland Revenue Authority (ERS) tax clearance certificates; Ministry of Public Works and Transport public transport permits; Ministry of Finance import permits and bank statements to reflect higher bank balances, a prerequisite for applying for international passports.
investigation
This investigation follows another previous investigation by this publication that resulted in the arrest of more than 25 people for falsifying bank statements to obtain international passports.
The arrests follow scammers exploiting the need for international passports as many emaSwati are looking to recruit abroad, the newspaper reported.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has also launched an investigation into officials of the Ministry of Interior in its investigation into the secret falsification of state documents and 10 people are said to be set to be arrested.
The expected arrests of ministry officials and other suspects involved in forging government documents stem from the arrest of a Zimbabwean, Delight Moyo, by the Major Crimes Unit police. He was suspected of being a middleman between some immigration officials and “clients” who needed passports. This led to an investigation into fraud at the Ministry of Home Affairs, which revealed that most government services were provided in the backyards of some civil servants’ residences. Following the alleged clues, the police discovered that there was a syndicate that was siphoning hundreds of thousands of Emanlangene from the state because they were providing services to the Ministry of Home Affairs in their own backyards.
Sale
Investigators reportedly found some civil servants selling government documents such as birth certificates, national identification cards, marriage certificates, travel documents, international passports, visas and work permits. Sources said the documents were found at the residences of some civil servants. In addition to the documents, police allegedly found government stamps used to “authenticate” the forged documents. Sources speculated that some civil servants in the Ministry of the Interior have a large number of clients in Asian and some northeastern African countries.
According to sources, the modus operandi of these corrupt civil servants is to deal with agents who inform them that someone needs the documents. Civil servants were said to bring documents to their residences and then picked up by the “clients”. Some civil servants were also said to be caught with blank documents which were said to be filled in as per the orders. In addition, recently the publication reported that Swaziland will continue to be in trouble as local documents used to generate revenue for the country are being fraudulently sold in South Africa in a new scam. The scam involves the sale of documents used to register cars in South Africa, such as blue books, registration tax plates and registration plates.
vehicle
The sale of these revenue-generating documents has resulted in the country losing millions of Emalangeni, which is generated from taxes levied during the registration process of imported vehicles.
Normally, when an imported car is registered in the country, ERS collects 14% value-added tax (VAT) and 25% customs duty, which is the country’s contribution to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) funding pool. Contributions to the SACU boost the percentage the country accumulates from the Union each quarter. This money contributes to the country’s coffers as the government’s annual budget relies on these contributions, along with other sources of revenue. Meanwhile, Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that police were investigating a case of fraud related to the claim for bail.
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