Thursday, 19 October 2017, former City employee, Mr. Nelson Damari, was found guilty on 38 counts of fraud by the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court.
Damari was sentenced to three years in jail. The sentence is suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted on charges of theft or fraud during the period of suspension and that he pays the City R35 000.
Damari, a former Operations Manager at the City’s Environmental Health Department, was arrested in August 2017 by the Hawks. His arrest came after an investigation by the City’s Forensic and Investigation Service Department.
He was charged with 94 counts of fraud after he defrauded the City by irregularly issuing export certificates and allegedly pocketing about R100 000.
The first allegation was reported in 2012 by Davita Trading (PTY) LTD, a subsidiary of Tiger Brands. It is alleged that Damari issued 50 export certificates to Davita Trading (PTY) LTD, but only charged them for 11 certificates and demanded that they be paid for in cash or cash cheque.
The investigation revealed that Damari has been defrauding the City since November 2009. It is alleged that he approached a number of export and import companies and offered to assist them with obtaining the certificates quicker.
In his capacity, Damari was not authorized to issue export and import certificates nor does the City issue invoices for export certificates.
An Exporter first pays at the City’s Revenue Paypoints and into the City’s bank account. Upon payment, the Exporter will be issued with a receipt which should be kept as proof of payment.
An Environmental Health Officer conducting a site inspection would then ask for proof of payment and if the premises complies with the Health Act and the Guidelines, a certificate will then be issued.
During the investigations it was established that export certificates were also irregularly and fraudulently issued to one company on the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development letterhead.
The export certificates were also accompanied by Veterinary Health Attestations that were allegedly completed and stamped by Damari with a fraudulent stamp.
When an investigation into the allegations commenced in 2012, Damari resigned as an employee of the City.
This is yet another example of how previous administrations dealt with corruption: by sweeping it under the carpet.
As a City, we will take every effort to pursue the prosecution of corrupt individuals and recoup money owed to the City’s residents.
That is why we will continue to vigorously pursue every allegation of corruption.
Corruption has no place in this administration and we will work tirelessly, and in collaboration with institutions such as the Hawks, the SAPS and all other institutions within the criminal justice system to ensure that the residents of Johannesburg receive the quality services they deserve.
I would also like to encourage people to report any fraud and corruption activities through our 24-hour tip-off hotline 0800 002 587 or visit the GFIS offices situated at 48 Ameshoff Street in Braamfontein.