Special Investigative Unit.
JOHANNESBURG - Assets, including multimillion rand property and three cars belonging to a businesswoman from KwaZulu-Natal, will be seized by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
This order comes after investigations by the unit linked Yolanda Mgobo to have allegedly benefited over R18 million in claims linked to the abuse of the Unemployment Insurance Fund Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (UIF TERS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the SIU, Mgobo is the director of Yoluleko Trading (Pty) Ltd, accused of benefiting from proceeds linked to several other entities.
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The unit says that while it notes that Mgobo did not personally submit UIF TERS claims, she and her company allegedly received funds from the entities, which were subsequently transferred to her personal accounts.
“The SIU investigation uncovered that Mgobo received payments totalling R18,632,335 in both her personal and business accounts.
“The SIU’s investigation further revealed that Mgobo utilised these proceeds for personal benefit and that of her life partner, Hlalanathi Hopewell Mbangi, between 2020 and 2025,” the SIU said.
The highest property purchased was two properties in Scottburgh, on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
They were valued at R1 million each.
Another property in Knightswood, Scottburgh, valued at R870,000, while another situated in Uvongo, along KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast, was valued at R845,000.
SIU said Mgobo, her partner, and the company are prohibited from selling, transferring, hiding, or disposing of specific vehicles and properties listed in the order while the investigation and hearings are ongoing.
This means that the assets must remain untouched until the Special Tribunal decides whether the agreement between the implicated parties and the department was unlawful, the unit added.