Two former intelligence officers arrested for alleged R5.8m fraud

Two former senior intelligence officers of the State Security Agency (SSA) have been arrested for the misappropriation of about R5.8m in state funds and money laundering.

The duo was handcuffed by the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) on Monday.

Court appearance

IDAC spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the two former SSA have made their first court appearance at the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

Mamothame said the matter was postponed to 23 June 2025 for pretrial.

Bail

“Ntshavheni Prince Makhathana was granted R100 000 bail, while Matome Solomon Ralebipi was granted R150 000 bail.

“They were both ordered to surrender their travel documents, should not have any direct or indirect contact with the state witnesses, should not leave their residential addresses with the exception of consultations with their attorneys and getting medical attention, should not dispose of their immovable assets and should report to their nearest police stations every Friday,” Mamothame said.

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Charges

Ntshavheni worked as a former manager of the Cover Support Unit (CSU) of the then National Intelligence Agency (NIA), which is now known as the state security agency, between 2007 and 2010 and was responsible for all its operations and financial expenditure.

Together with his co-accused, Ralebipi, a former agent of the NIA, is being charged with allegations of theft for personal gain, amounting to approximately R5.8 million in state funds allocated to the then NIA.

Fraud

Mamothame said Ralebipi Properties CC, which is accused three in the matter, was allegedly created to serve as a money laundering platform to conceal the origin of the proceeds of crime.

He said this included the true ownership of the two business properties that were purchased as well as acts of fraud, forgery, uttering and perjury being committed to conceal the unlawful misappropriation of funds.

“Following a lengthy litigation process, Ralebipi succeeded in obtaining a High Court ruling that the properties must be registered in the name of Ralebipi Properties CC, of which he is the sole member.

“The two enjoyed relationships of trust, representing the people of South Africa and the NIA/SSA. They exploited these positions of trust and the covert nature of the CSU operations, which dispensed with a number of financial safeguards, for personal gain,” Mamothame said.

Corruption

The SSA has a history of being plagued by corruption.

In June 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed a review panel to assess the structure of the SSA relative to its mandate and enquire into its systems and capacity.

The report by the ten-person review panel, headed by former minister Sydney Mufamadi was released by Ramaphosa in March 2019 and found widespread abuse of the intelligence services, with it being used for political ends, including internal ANC factional battles.

The high-level report was released in a redacted form, as it contained “… the names and identities of persons who cannot be named at this point, as well as details of operational matters that would compromise the work of the State Security Agency,” the Presidency said upon its release.

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