South African Judge To Appear In Court For Fraud

A South African high court judge will be appearing in court in March on charges of theft, money laundering, and contempt of court. 

The Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team placed a (J175) court summoned the Free State High Court Judge on Friday, February 17, 2023, to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Kroonstad.

The judge will face theft, money laundering, and contempt of court charges.

The probe is related to a Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim submitted by the Judge while he was still an attorney.

After he was appointed as a judge, he handed over the client's file and R1,255,000 to another attorney.

The victim's mother filed a complaint against the second attorney who stole the funds.

Subsequent inquiry indicated that RAF paid R3,142,089.70, and the attorneys' alleged activities jeopardized the victim's funds over R2.5 million.

The Judge, who is now serving at the High Court, will appear in court for the first time on March 9, 2023.

Lieutenant General (Dr/Adv) Lebeya, the National Chief of the Hawks, praised the team for their thorough investigation and stressed that they will do everything in their power to protect the rights of vulnerable people.