Hawks raid homes of former officials from Office of the Chief Justice

• The Hawks have raided the homes of three former Office of the Chief Justice officials accused of allegedly benefitting from a R225 million IT contract.
• The three officials were allegedly instrumental in setting up the six-year contract, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The Hawks said the officials reportedly stood to gain about R67 million through this deal.

The Hawks executed a search-and-seizure operation at the homes of three former Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) officials accused of allegedly benefitting from a R225 million IT contract on Tuesday.

"At the heart of the probe is allegations that the trio reportedly set themselves up to benefit from a R225 million IT contract awarded to a multimedia and technology company.

Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha said: 

Ramovha added the three were allegedly instrumental in setting up the six-year contract during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said after the contract was in place, they resigned and became directors of a consulting company, which subcontracted to the main service provider. 

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"They reportedly stood to gain about R67 million through this deal. The OCJ reported the matter to the Hawks and hence the search-and-seizure operation to obtain documentary and electronic evidence," Ramovha said.

The raids took place in Pretoria and Kempton Park.

He added no arrests were made, but the accused could face charges of fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Cybercrime Act.