How Home Affairs officials sold SA to 'highest bidder'

CORRUPT Home Affairs officials scored millions of rands from fraudulent Visa applications, which were underpinned by fake documentation. 

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) said cellphone analysis confirmed direct communication between officials and foreign nationals, with payments ranging from R500 to R3,000 via E-Wallet to facilitate unlawful approvals.

Payments were allegedly concealed in multiple ways including cash hidden inside application forms with office doors closed to avoid surveillance cameras; e-Wallet deposits using non-RICA-registered or fraudulently registered numbers; asylum seekers sending e-Wallet payments to themselves and sharing OTPs with officials; and in-kind payments such as covering private rent or services.

The SIU described a coordinated “nefarious syndicate” of adjudicators responsible for processing visa applications who allegedly engaged in systemic corruption and illicit enrichment.

Four officials earning less than R25,000 per month were found to have received R16.3 million in direct deposits. 

In one case, deposits totalling R8.9 million flowed through a construction company registered in an official’s spouse’s name, including payments referencing “PRP” (Permanent Residence Permit). At least R185,000 was directly linked to PRP applications.

Applications were sent via WhatsApp for expedited approval and, once approved, payments followed almost immediately. In one instance, a permit was approved on 20 December and R3,000 was deposited into a spouse’s account the next day. Another saw R6,000 transferred days after two permits were approved.

The investigation was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa under Proclamation 154 of 2024. An interim report outlining the outcomes has been submitted to the President and made public.

The investigation was triggered by a whistleblower who alleged that foreign nationals were entering South Africa, fraudulently obtaining asylum seeker permits and later using those permits to apply for permanent residence and ultimately citizenship.

In a press briefing Monday, acting SIU head Leonard Lekgetho said  South Africa was being sold one permit at a time.

“The SIU has also traced financial gains exceeding R181 million associated with beneficiaries of fraudulent Visa applications, which were underpinned by fake documentation,” Lekgetho said.

According to the SIU, the corruption was not incidental but organised and deliberate. Officials entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of the department allegedly turned their positions into “profit-making schemes,” working with external actors and syndicates to manipulate systemic weaknesses.

The SIU said certain officials acquired assets “grossly disproportionate to their legal income,” including cash purchases of multiple properties and high-value residential developments.

“The scale of enrichment was staggering,” Lekgetho said, adding that one official “built a mansion and a paved road leading to her home on a monthly salary of R25,000.”

The SIU also uncovered broader identity manipulation schemes.

In conjunction with Interpol, investigators identified a pattern in which foreign nationals allegedly colluded with officials to gain unauthorised access to Home Affairs offices. Fingerprints of unsuspecting South African citizens were used while substituting application photographs with those of foreign nationals to obtain South African passports.

In a parallel investigation, the SIU found prima facie evidence of DNA sample swapping and manipulation intended to favour foreign nationals applying for Permanent Residence Permits.

The investigation also found systemic abuse of the retirement visa category, citing a lack of clear departmental guidelines and post-issuance monitoring of the required R37,000 monthly income threshold.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the single most extraordinary and important finding of the SIU’s work, was that the bulk of the malfeasance was allegedly committed by a handful of officials.

He said 20 officials have already been dismissed since April last year.

“I have also requested the Director-General to write to the Department of Public Service and Administration, as well as to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, to ensure that these former officials are not reemployed elsewhere in the State while they undergo criminal proceedings. Over the past two financial years, a total of 75 disciplinary cases have been completed, resulting in an additional 16 suspensions without pay and 22 written warnings.” 

He said this process led to a number of referrals for criminal prosecution. 

“The Department has also identified over 2 000 study visas that were fraudulently issued through these syndicates. Administrative processes are now underway to cancel these visas, and we will also ringfence any subsequent visas obtained by these same individuals to ensure that all irregularly-obtained documents are cancelled and that perpetrators are deported or prosecuted as required.”

Cape Times