SIU Clampdown on RAF Corruption: Millions Recovered Amid Extensive Investigations

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) of South Africa has successfully retrieved over R317 million in wrongful payments to legal practitioners made by the embattled Road Accident Fund (RAF). Engaged in a thorough examination of the entity since 2021, the SIU has detailed its findings during a parliamentary briefing with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa).

The intricate operation delved into numerous facets of financial mismanagement within the RAF, including fraudulent activities, mishandling of tender processes, and the dubious conduct of staff members. Leonard Lekgetho, the SIU’s head investigator, relayed the discovery of R340 million in duplicate compensations issued to around 102 law firms and sheriffs. This complex scenario emerges from the entangled payment system which resulted in attorneys capitalizing on the RAF bank account through legal writs, causing the fund to inadvertently make double payments.

This revelation of systemic errors within the payment administration has led to significant sums being acknowledged as debts by several perpetrators, while others have taken steps to return the undue gains. Stepping beyond financial retrieval, the SIU has escalated matters, referring implicated officials to disciplinary actions and former employees to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for identified criminal elements in their conduct. The comprehensive analysis also incorporates the suspicious dissipation of trust fund accounts, with evidence potent enough to provoke prosecutions and reports to the Legal Practice Council.

A controversial decision by the RAF to dissolve its panel of lawyers has also raised flags, with legal bodies expressing their discontent and the SIU probing the influence of this decision on a surge in default judgments against the RAF, presently amounting to a staggering R4.7 billion. This surge includes cases where drawn out delays led to claims accruing significant interest, demanding even greater payouts from RAF's strained coffers.

Procurement misconduct is equally under the microscope. The SIU has pinpointed violations of constitutional and legislative regulations in contracts with service providers purposed with addressing claims backlog, as well as flagging potentially redundant expenditures like unused SAP software licenses. These findings are steering the SIU towards civil litigation and potential recoveries.

The SIU's tentacles have spread further, questioning the legitimacy of escalating contracts relating to office furniture and the propriety of RAF’s office rentals. The probe continues to unravel potential procurement aberrations, recoverable costs, and the conduct of service providers and RAF employees suspected of overcharging the fund and corrupt dealings.

The SIU remains undeterred in its ongoing mission, aimed at unearthing the full scope of financial violations and extracting justice. Amidst this, the RAF’s internal audits proactively paused payments of about R482 million to legal firms pending the clear determination of rightful claims—an attempt to staunch the financial hemorrhaging as the meticulous vetting of the afflicted financial affairs proceeds.