EX-ESRIC EMPLOYEE, LAWYER ARRESTED FOR E532 178 FRAUD

MBABANE - A former employee of Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation (ESRIC) and a lawyer have been arrested for allegedly defrauding the insurer a sum of over E530 000.

Linda Nzuza (39) of Thonkwane, under Chief Sipho Dlamini, was employed by ESRIC and he was based under the Group Life and Pensions Department. The lawyer is Sikhumbuzo Hlophe (40) of Mpolonjeni.

He once worked for ESRIC before he became a government lawyer, where he ascended to the position of senior Crown counsel. Hlophe, who was an aspiring Member of Parliament in the 2018 national elections, ventured into private practice and he is currently operating his own law office which is based at Mbabane House.

Their arrest followed an application that has been filed at the High Court in which ESRIC demands payment of a sum of E3 366 202 from its former employee who resigned, Bongani Magagula, who is also accused defrauding the corporation.

Hlophe and Nzuza were arrested in the afternoon on Wednesday. They have been charged together with a company, Eliz Corporate Consultants (Pty) Ltd, in which the former is a co-director. Together with the company, they have been charged with a total of 15 counts of fraud.

Committed

The offences were allegedly committed in Mbababe between September 2015 and May 2018. The duo is alleged to have used the company, Eliz Corporate Consultants, to defraud ESRIC the sum of E532 178.58.

They are alleged to have misrepresented to ESRIC that Eliz Corporate Consultants had brokered and brought persons known as annuitants and they or the company would be paid various sums of money as commission which they were not entitled to. An annuity is a fixed sum of money that is paid to someone (annuitant) each year, typically for the rest of their life. It is a form of insurance or investment entitling the annuitant or investor to a series of annual sums of money.

In September 2016, the accused are alleged to have, with an intention to defraud, misrepresented to the ESRIC Manager in the Group Life and Pensions Department, Queen Maud Maziya, that Eliz Corporate Consultant had brokered and brought one Xolani Mkhwanazi as an annuitant for a capital amount of E1 362 257.84. As per the alleged misrepresentation, Eliz Corporate was purportedly entitled to be paid commission in the amount of E20 433.87.

Maziya processed and made payment amounting to E20 433.87 to the company “whereas at the time they made the aforesaid misrepresentation, they well knew that the real annuitant was Xolile Rejoice Mkhwanazi, who was from the ESRIC Preservation Fund and no commission was payable and accused three (Eliz Corporate) was not entitled to be paid the commission.”

Misrepresented

Between February 2016 and July 2017, the accused allegedly misrepresented to Maziya that four annuitants from Sebenta Pension Fund, which is administered by ESRIC with no commission payable, had been brokered and brought to ESRIC by Eliz Corporate Consultants. 

The charge sheet states that the accused allegedly received a total of E31 900.95 which it was not entitled to. They are alleged to have known that when they made the said misrepresentation, the annuitants were from Sebenta Pension Fraud. They are alleged to have also known that the forms signed by the annuitants did not contain broker details.

Hlophe and Nzuza are further alleged to have, on September 16, 2016, misrepresented to Maziya that Eliz Corporation Consultants had brought one Bongani Shabalala as an annuitant for a capital amount of E335 748.33 and was entitled to be paid commission amounting to E5 036.22 and by so doing, induced Maziya to process and make payment for the commission.
When they allegedly made the misrepresentation, according to the charge sheet, they knew that there was no Bongani Shabalala who was an annuitant for the capital amount of E335 748.33.

In January 2017, Hlophe and Nzuza are alleged to have fraudulently claimed commission amounting to E23 633.73 from ESRIC by misrepresenting to Maziya that Eliz Corporate Consultants had brokered and brought one Brian Khuluzonke Magagula as an annuitant for a capital amount of E1 566 668.50.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: