Convicted fraudsters named and shamed

(Image: GCIS)

Releasing the list in Pretoria, Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe said the release of the list shows government's commitment in fighting fraud and corruption.

"This action is evidence that Government has adopted a zero tolerance approach to the fight against all corrupt activities either in the public or private sector," he said.

"This aggressive stance has been initiated to ensure that, for the first time in the history or our democracy, criminals in our society will be made known and held accountable for their actions publicly," the minister said.

In total, the list contains the names of 42 people convicted of committing fraud and corruption. Radebe explained that the cases of the 42 people, were prioritised because of the huge amounts involved.

He said more names from a long list of over 3,000 convicted individuals will be released later.

According to Radebe, for the 2012/13 financial year, criminal investigations had been recorded against 242 accused persons in 89 priority cases involving serious corrupt incidents which involve R5m or more per incident.

In a bid to effectively fight against corruption, President Jacob Zuma established the Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT) in 2010 as an interdepartmental body comprising of the National Prosecution Authority (NPA), Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), South African Revenue Service (SARS), HAWKS, Special Investigation Unit (SIU), Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the National Treasury to fast-track investigations of high-priority and high-profile corruption cases.

Radebe said the list of the convicted fraudsters will be posted on government websites, this is to ensure that they are not employed in any government department.

"They will be blacklisted to ensure that they do not move from one government department to another," he said.

Among those listed are Boy Meshack Thekiso, David Mtsoane and Teboho Masoleng, who were sentenced to 25 years and 15 years respectively.

They were part of a syndicate that defrauded the Post Bank. The syndicate managed to obtain access to the Post Bank's computer system.

They transferred funds to Post Bank accounts created with the specific purpose of committing fraud and theft. The total amount involved was R42,782,500.