Latest news with #SIU
Express Tribune
13 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Extortion shadow looms over the metro
The extortion mafia has once again raised its head in the city, with 32 cases reported over the past five months. The highest number of incidents — 10 — were reported in District Central, where extortionists not only targeted individuals but also caused loss of life through gunfire. Taking notice of the rising number of extortion cases, Karachi Police Chief Javed Alam Odho has formed a 13-member team comprising the SSP of New Karachi Division, CPLC, SIU, technical team members, and officers from the operations wing of the District Central police. So far this year, 11 extortion cases were reported in January, four in February, nine in March, five in April, and three in May. According to reports, hotel owners, food centres, paan shopkeepers, and street vendors were blackmailed and threatened with dire consequences if they did not pay extortion money. In the New Karachi area of District Central, a young boy and a social worker — who was providing iftar to citizens during Ramazan — were killed in firing by extortionists. Additionally, several shopkeepers have reported cases to the police in which they paid extortion money. It is worth noting that investigations have revealed evidence of the involvement of the Lyari gang war's Wasiullah Lakho and Samad Kathiawari groups in these extortion cases. Police have already arrested several members of both groups. The special team formed to crack down on extortionists will be headed by SP New Karachi Division Salman Waheed, and will include Assistant Chief Operations of CPLC Kashif Iftikhar, Deputy Chief District Central Sheikh Faraz, and Naveed Hashmi. Other members include DSP Operations Wasif Qureshi and DSP Investigation Nasir Afridi from the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the CIA Police, SHO SIU Inspector Malik Mazhar Awan, and technical team members Sub-Inspectors Qadir Jalali and Zeeshan, along with area Head Constable Faraz. The team also includes the SDPO of New Karachi from the Operations Wing of District Central and the technical team of District Central. In addition, the team may seek assistance from any police officer within the Karachi Range as needed. The Karachi Police Chief has tasked the team with preventing further extortion cases in District Central and arresting those involved.
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
Chieta welcomes SIU investigation into discretionary grant funding
The Special Investigating Unit is probing fraud, corruption, irregularities, malpractices or maladministration at the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority. Image: Supplied The Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (Chieta) is taking credit for the Special Investigating Unit's (SIU's) probe into its affairs and the disbursement of millions of rand in discretionary grant funding. The SIU investigation was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa and is expected to zoom in on the allocation of discretionary grant funding to entities in which Chieta employees or officials may have had undisclosed or unauthorised interests and the extent of any benefit derived by the employees or officials. Chieta, whose annual budget is over R735 million for 2025/26, is expected to disburse R446m in discretionary grants in the current financial year. It has welcomed the presidential proclamation authorising the SIU to investigate certain historical matters related to the entity. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ According to Chieta, the probe is the direct result of a proactive step it took. 'In 2019, in line with our commitment to ethical governance and accountability, Chieta commissioned an independent forensic investigation into concerns related to past procurement processes,' the sector education and training authority explained. It added that this included the procurement of information technology and audit services. 'The organisation subsequently submitted the findings to the SIU and, in 2021, opened a criminal case involving a former employee, with a board directive to recover misappropriated funds,' the entity said. Chieta indicated that this demonstrated its values in action, accountability, transparency, and respect for its public mandate. 'Our strong governance culture has since been affirmed through consistent clean audits and a 100% performance rating from the Auditor-General. 'We wish to assure stakeholders and the public that the investigation does not relate to current leadership or programmes,' stated Chieta. The authority also gave assurances that its work, including the national rollout of Smart Skills Centres, will continue uninterrupted and aligned with its vision for inclusive skills development. The SIU will also probe any losses or actual or potential prejudice suffered by Chieta or the State as a result of such fraud, corruption, irregularities, malpractices or maladministration, including the causes of such fraud, corruption, irregularities, malpractices or maladministration. Additionally, the corruption-busting unit will look into the procurement of, or contracting for information, and communications technology services and auditing services by or on behalf of Chieta and payments made.
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Man, 21, charged with armed carjacking after fall from Gardiner Expressway, police say
Toronto police say a 21-year-old man has been charged in an armed carjacking, after he fell from the Gardiner Expressway on Monday night while allegedly fleeing from officers. The man was arrested at the scene, suffered serious injuries in the fall and was taken to hospital by paramedics. He has been charged with 10 offences and was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday morning. Three other suspects in the incident, which involved two stolen vehicles, a BMW X5 and a Rolls Royce, are still on the loose, Toronto police said in a news release on Wednesday. The Monday night incident shut down the eastern Gardiner, not far from the Don Valley juncture, for hours. Ontario's Special investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the incident. Incident began at Finch and Yonge, police say Police said the incident began when they received a call around 9:35 p.m. Monday about a carjacking in the area of Finch Avenue E. and Yonge Street. Police allege that a driver parked and got out of a vehicle while three male suspects in a stolen BMW X5 stopped nearby. Two males then got out of the BMW X5 and demanded the driver's keys. After a struggle with the driver, the suspects fled the scene in their own vehicle. Less than two hours later, shortly after 11 p.m., police received another call about a carjacking in the area of the Shops of Don Mills near Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue E. Police allege a driver parked their vehicle, a Rolls Royce, in a parking lot when four male suspects in the stolen BMW X5 stopped nearby. Police said the three suspects got out of the stolen BMW X5, pulled out a handgun and demanded the keys. Then the three suspects drove away in the Rolls Royce with the BMW in tandem. Officers from police's hold up squad tracked the stolen vehicles to the Gardiner with the help of officers from 32 and 33 divisions, major crime units, the canine unit, emergency task force and York Regional Police's Air2 helicopter. The vehicles were travelling eastbound. Police recover stolen Rolls Royce, BMW X5 According to the SIU, police put a roadblock up further west on the Gardiner, which led to a suspect in the BMW stopping and running away from police. Moments later, the SIU said the suspect fell from the Gardiner onto Lake Shore Boulevard E. below. Toronto paramedics said they were called to lower Jarvis Street around 11:50 p.m. and took a man to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. Police said he was taken into custody after a "high-risk takedown." The stolen Rolls Royce, meanwhile, smashed through the police barricade and fled the area. It was later recovered by police. The stolen BMW was also recovered, police said.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Hawks, NPA explain why corruption investigations, prosecutions take long
The Hawks has to outsource certain skills to handle complex investigations due to internal capacity constraints. Members of Parliament (MPs) at the Good Hope Chamber on 5 May 2025 in Cape Town. Picture: Gallo Images/ER Lombard The Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have explained the delays in investigating and prosecuting corruption cases to Parliament, citing challenges such as limited resources and complex legal processes. On Wednesday, officials from the NPA and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) appeared before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa). They provided an update on corruption cases referred by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). SIU referrals to Hawks During the meeting, SIU head Andy Mothibi clarified that the unit refers matters to the NPA only when it believes that the evidence suggests criminal conduct. 'Whether it meets the criminal standard or not is for the NPA to decide,' he said. Mothibi noted that 3 374 referrals had been made over a five-year period between April 2020 and May of this year. These referrals often involve multiple individuals or companies. Mmeli Makinyane, component head of the Hawks' serious commercial crime, indicated that the DPCI had processed 355 dockets originating from SIU referrals. ALSO READ: Lawyer, plumber and then security professional: Inside the elaborate cons of scammers nabbed by the Hawks He stated that 58 of these cases are currently before the courts, 96 dockets are awaiting a decision from the NPA, and 201 are still under investigation. According to Makinyane, 72 cases have resulted in guilty verdicts, while one ended in acquittal. The NPA declined to prosecute 15 cases due to either insufficient evidence or poor prospects of success. Makinyane further explained that these cases involved various government departments and state-owned entities, including Denel, Eskom, and several municipalities. Watch the meeting below: Many of the cases are tied to allegations of fraud, theft, corruption, and related offences. A significant number of the referrals came from the Department of Higher Education and related to fraudulent applications to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas). He added that four cases linked to state capture had been investigated, one of which led to a conviction. In relation to Covid-19, the Hawks received 93 referrals from the SIU. Of these, 22 are now in court, 12 have been submitted to the NPA, and 59 are still under active investigation. Skills gaps continue to hamper Hawks investigations Makinyane conceded that the Hawks had to outsource certain skills to handle complex investigations due to internal capacity constraints. 'The issue of resources always comes and hits us hard when we get to the time that we take in finalising our matters,' he told MPs. Patrick Mbotho, Hawks' divisional commissioner for national priority offences, pointed out that the DPCI's forensic accounting capacity is 'very limited' and that the recruitment of the required skills is often slow. 'Our procurement is not the fastest,' he said. He also mentioned that delays in declassifying documents posed additional hurdles. 'These are the kind of challenges that we sometimes face.' NPA faces constraints in prosecution processes National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi addressed the limitations faced by the NPA once it receives cases. She informed the committee that most matters are referred to the Hawks for further investigation, as the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) lacks the necessary capacity. 'IDAC is a very small part of the work in any event. There's still a large number that goes to the DPCI,' she said. Batohi stressed the difference between criminal and civil standards of proof. 'There are still investigations that need to be done in order to meet the criminal standard so that we can make the decision to prosecute.' ALSO READ: Shamila Batohi's been in the job for 6 years. Here's how many high-profile convictions she's secured She also revealed that a digital evidence unit had been established within IDAC to improve analysis of electronic evidence. 'The capacity is still small, but this is potentially something that is a game changer,' she said. Batohi emphasised that digital devices like phones and laptops are now critical sources of evidence and require rare, expensive skills that have been 'delaying a lot of these cases'. She clarified that while Directors of Public Prosecutions (DPPs) in each province are authorised to make decisions on prosecutions, the NDPP only intervenes in specific cases. 'An NDPP is a review mechanism that can review decisions of DPPs in various circumstances.' NPA explains delays in cases IDAC's chief director of investigation and information management, Matthews Sesoko, told MPs that the nature of the investigations contributes to the delays. He further highlighted that since the unit's establishment in August last year, recruitment efforts had struggled to attract individuals with the necessary skills. 'That on its own takes time for us to be properly capacitated to move quicker with our investigations.' Sesoko said many of the cases under investigation involve Eskom and Transnet contracts. Some of these cases are already in court, but others have been pending for extended periods due to the number of accused. READ MORE: 'Unacceptable': Judiciary budget constraints, shortage of judges and backlogs 'The accused persons will lodge interlocutory applications which we will have to respond to and that itself lengthens the cases. 'The accused persons will also, from time to time, change legal representations and that also delays matters moving forward.' Nkebe Kanyane, Special Director of Public Prosecutions from the Special Commercial Crime Unit, explained that most of the postponements were not caused by the state. 'There were cases where of course the docket was not in court so that is the state's fault,' she remarked. Kanyane revealed that the NPA had collected nationwide court data to determine reasons for delays. Infrastructure issues such as load shedding and water shortages, along with the unavailability of prosecutors, presiding officers, defence counsel, or the accused, were among the reasons identified. She added that there were 74 cases in which the NPA had declined to prosecute. Civil recovery Batohi spoke about the value of civil recovery through the Asset Forfeiture Unit, describing it as an effective tool in the fight against corruption. She clarified that civil recovery allowed the state to reclaim funds without needing a criminal conviction, particularly when companies disclose their involvement and cooperate with investigators. 'Individual persons are still subject to prosecution, but the benefit of the resolution is that the corporate agrees to actually work with the investigators to provide evidence against individuals.' Batohi also raised concerns about witness protection, which she identified as a key barrier to successful prosecutions. 'People coming forward to speak out against corruption put their lives at stake,' she said. She acknowledged the NPA's difficulties in retaining skilled professionals, citing competition from the SIU and South African Revenue Service. NOW READ: A national embarrassment? 'Scorpions 2.0' bill pitched to save failing NPA
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Pension freeze for former NLC official amid serious fraud allegations
The pension fund of former National Lotteries Commission senior manager Sanele Dlamini was frozen. Image: File Former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) official, Sanele Dlamini, has been interdicted from cashing in on his pension, pending the outcome of the Special Investigating Unit's (SIU) investigation into allegations that he improperly authorised the payment of R3 million towards a project which never materialised. The SIU turned to the Special Tribunal to freeze Dlamini's retirement fund, which is due to be paid to him. Dlamini is a former senior manager of the grant operations of the NLC. The SIU is litigating on behalf of the commission to recover losses that it suffered as a result of irregular and unlawful practices. The SIU said it believes that Dlamini may be 'a man of straw', and if its investigations reveal any wrongdoing on his part, they will at least be able to recover the NLC money from his pension fund. The NLC had awarded the Motheo Sports Foundation a grant of R9 million for the construction of a sports complex. The first payment made was nearly R3.6 million. The SIU investigation revealed that this amount was not used for the funded project but was instead shared among several people and/or entities as an undue gratification. It was alleged that Dlamini authorised the payment of the money based on falsified progress reports, despite no work being done on the funded project. Investigations revealed that the land was used as a dumping site. A disciplinary inquiry subsequently found Dlamini guilty of gross negligence and misconduct, and he was dismissed. The SIU now seeks to preserve Dlamini's pension fund at Liberty Life Insurance, pending the outcome of a review application to recover the funds. Dlamini, in opposing the application, said it is clear that the sports foundation received the funds and not him. He was not part of any fraud or scheme to siphon off money from the NLC. He was not present when the project was approved. At that stage, he was the provincial manager for the KwaZulu-Natal office of the NLC. He asserted that he unfairly attracted blame for this entire saga for simply approving a payment of R3 million to the Motheo Foundation. He argued that the money must be recovered from the principal debtors, being the persons and entities who received the NLC money. Therefore, he should not be held liable. Dlamini said he based his approval of the progress report, the financial report, and visuals showing the site and work in progress. He stated that he was the victim of the fraud, as also the NLC.
