The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating 102 law firms that collectively received duplicate payments of more than R340 million from the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
The firms received duplicate payments from the RAF as compensation to people injured because of motor vehicle accidents. Instead of returning the duplicate payments to the RAF, legal practitioners opted to either keep the money in their trust accounts or use it to their personal benefit, the SIU said in a statement on Monday.
To date, the SIU recovered R18m via an acknowledgement of debt following the signing of Proclamation R44 of 2021 by President Cyril Ramaphosa authorising the SIU to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration at the RAF.
The proclamation authorises the SIU to investigate compensation payments made by the RAF to claimants or claimants’ agents, payments made by the RAF in a manner that is contrary to the applicable legislations, and to recover financial losses suffered by the state or the RAF.
In the first phrase of its four-phase investigation, the SIU is looking at 102 law firms that received duplicate payments of R340 060 277. When approached with the evidence, several legal practitioners opted to co-operate with the SIU investigation by signing of acknowledgments of indebtedness.
The SIU signs acknowledgements of debt with individuals and companies that are subject to SIU investigations, committing to pay back undue financial benefit with interest over an agreed period.
