4 days ago
Defensor Security Company and two directors found guilty of R384m fraud
The Northern Cape high court on Monday found two directors of Defensor Security Services guilty of fraud.
The court also found Claudius Gerald Peterson, Gert Renier van Rooyen and their company guilty of contravening the Public Finance Management Act and the Private Security Industry Regulation Act (PSIRA).
Peterson, Van Rooyen and Defensor were charged together with Steven Jonkers, the former head of the department of health in the Northern Cape, in 2020. Jonkers was acquitted of all charges.
Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Tebogo Thebe said Jonkers, now deputy director-general in another provincial department, allegedly irregularly awarded a tender to Defensor Electronic Security Systems for security services to the department between August and October 2017.
The tender's value was initially R224m but later escalated to more than R384m.
'The directors submitted fraudulent documents to gain an unfair advantage over others to be awarded the tender,' Thebe said.
The case was reported to the Hawks' serious corruption investigators in December 2017 and arrests were made in 2020.
Northern Cape Hawks head Maj-Gen Stephen Mabuela welcome the convictions.
'The wheels of justice may have turned slowly in this matter, but this conviction offers us hope. My appreciation goes to both the investigating and prosecutorial teams for their hard work,' Mabuela said.
