A woman accused of defrauding the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) of more than R100,000 while a company registered to her scored SAPS tenders worth millions has been convicted.
On Tuesday the Pretoria North regional court found Sarathamoney Devi Sigamoney, 67, guilty of contravening the Social Assistance Act, perjury, fraud and theft.
She stood in the accused box in a black and white top and grey jeans, clutching a tissue in her right hand as judgment was handed down.
It was alleged that in April 2017 Sigamoney “applied for an old age grant with Sassa, attaching a supporting affidavit [that] stated that she had not worked for 20 years”, said Investigating Directorate spokesperson Henry Mamothame.
“On April 18, Sassa provided Sigamoney with a letter of approval, which she signed for as received. She is alleged to have received grant money amounting to about R123,000 from July 2017 to July 2022. Subsequent to charges being registered against her, she continued to receive the grant for a further 16 months.”
All of this happened while Sigamoney was apparently the sole director of a company, KJP Traders, that was awarded tenders worth R88m from the SAPS to supply furniture. The last payment made to the company was in 2022.
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