Share

Hawks probe medical aid racket

Johannesburg - The Hawks are investigating corruption in the medical aid industry and have already raided 12 premises, the Sunday Times reported.

Trustees of two medical aids, Hosmed and Commed, allegedly worked with officials from the Council for Medical Schemes, the industry regulator, to defraud medical aid members, the paper reported, citing an affidavit from police Lieutenant-Colonel Gezina Lottering.

Allegations against these medical aids first surfaced last year, but apparently no action was taken against them.

Administrator Allcare, which looks after the medical aid accounts of 135 000 people, had also been implicated, the newspaper reported.

Lottering's affidavit describes a "culture of dishonesty" at Allcare, including bribery, corruption, and contraventions of the Medical Schemes Act.

She said money was systematically stolen from Commed through the submission of fictitious supplier invoices.

This required the appointment of compliant trustees, who would allow these fake invoices to be submitted.

Commed and Allcare premises were raided by the Hawks as part of this investigation, according to the Sunday Times.

One particular case of corruption detailed by the Sunday Times involved an alleged bribe paid by Allcare to Commed's former chairperson.

David Tsalapedi, a whistleblower fired by Allcare, said in an affidavit that Raato Mogajane, had asked for a R50 000 bribe to ensure Commed retained Allcare as its medical aid administrator.

Mogajane denied taking the bribe, suggesting that Tsalapedi was suffering from sour grapes after his dismissal from Allcare.

Allcare CEO Howard Phillips told the weekly that "absolutely nothing improper" happened at his company and that Tsalapedi was fired because he was dishonest
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders