The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) national head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya assured on Friday that the State Capture National Investigation Task Team is focussing on conducting comprehensive investigations, prioritising investigations and transforming inquiries into case dockets.

Briefing the media on the Hawks 2023/24 achievements, he said  2 241 statements had been obtained in 53 cases, relating to the recommendations that came out of the State capture commission.

Twenty-seven suspects – 19 natural and eight juristic persons – had been arrested by the Hawks, he said.

He announced that the DPCI had already arrested six suspects in the Bosasa case before it was taken over by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, bringing the total arrests by the DPCI to 33.

The team recovered over R400-million, promptly deposited into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account, he added.

Meanwhile, Lebeya announced that former Chief Financial Officer of Steinhoff Andries Benjamin La Grange’s case was postponed to October 4, this after he was granted bail of R150 000 after appearing in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

La Grange handed himself over to the Hawks and was arrested on Wednesday.

La Grange and former Steinhoff director Stephanus Johannes Grobler are facing charges of racketeering, three counts of fraud worth R21-billion, manipulation of financial statements, and failure to report fraudulent activities.

As at the end of the quarter under review, the DPCI was carrying 783 cases, 284 of which were on the court roll, 277 pending decision and 222 investigations related to the South African Revenue Service.

CONVICTIONS AND FRAUD

Lebeya said Gauteng contributed to a high number of convictions and fraud cases during the fourth quarter of 2023/24.

He said Gauteng contributed a high number of convictions, with a total of 32, while the North West had 31.

He noted that fraud and corruption were negatively affecting the economy and the DPCI remained steadfast in ensuring that fraudsters and corrupt persons were brought to justice.

He said fraud cases contributed the highest number of arrests, with 224 accused including 21 juristic persons.

He highlighted that the DPCI had made significant inroads in apprehending individuals involved in high-profile cases, ensuring accountability and justice for the victims.

“These arrests have targeted persons involved in the commission of national priority offences including serious corruption, serious organised crime, serious commercial crime, fraud, money laundering, police killings, cash-in-transit robberies, illegal mining, damage to essential infrastructure, theft of fuel from the pipelines, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons and trafficking in endangered species,” he said.

Lebeya explained that a total number of 182 convictions, including seven juristic persons, were secured, with 84 convictions emanating from Serious Organised Crime, 61 from Serious Commercial Crime and 37 from Serious Corruption.

He noted that of these convicts, 120 were South African, while 55 were foreign nationals.

The top convicted foreign nationals were Zimbabwean with 11, with Basotho and Mozambican nationals representing a total number of nine accused persons each.