Lawyer in court for R3.7m RAF fraud
Nine people, including a two-month-old baby, were killed and dozens injured on KwaZulu-Natal roads this weekend. Picture: Mujahid Safodien Nine people, including a two-month-old baby, were killed and dozens injured on KwaZulu-Natal roads this weekend. Picture: Mujahid Safodien
A lawyer has appeared in court for allegedly defrauding the Road Accident Fund (RAF) of about R3.7 million.
Nalini Atwaru, who lives in Pietermaritzburg was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning, after an investigation by the commercial crimes unit had revealed she submitted fictitious reports of accidents three years ago.
The 42-year-old woman apparently created at least six separate accident reports on behalf of herself, her mother Neelambal Naidoo, 66, her mother-in-law and three children.
Naidoo and Atwaru both appeared in the Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday afternoon, but Naidoo's case was struck off the role because of her age and because it was shown that she did not receive payment from the fake claims.
Evidence presented by investigating officers showed that Atwaru had already collected about R1.3 million from the RAF.
She was released on bail.
KZN police spokesman Lt. Col. Vincent Mdunge said Atwaru was charged with fraud and her case was postponed.
He said the remaining accused, including Atwaru's adult children, would appear in the Point Periodical Court on Friday. They also face charges of fraud.
“The timely intervention by the Commercial Crimes Unit saved the RAF millions of rands which would have been lost as a result of a fraudulent claim of his nature.
“This should send a warning to the society that we have capacity to effectively investigate fraud and successfully trace, track and arrest the swindlers,” he said. - IOL
*E-mail Benita: benita.enoch@inl.co.za