Joe Verster, a former head of the apartheid government’s Civil Co-operation Bureau (CCB), was arrested by the Scorpions at his Pretoria home on fraud charges, SABC television news reported on Friday.
Verster is accused of defrauding three KwaZulu-Natal municipalities of millions of rands. According to the report this was after financial officials in the province invested council money in a ”get-rich-quick” scheme allegedly run by, among others, Verster.
Scorpions spokesperson Nathi Chili told the public broadcaster: ”These charges are very serious as indicated earlier that the prejudice that was suffered by the municipalities at this stage amounts to R27-million.
”There are documents that have already been found that (allegedly) connect him to the syndicate as he appears in all these contract documents as a person who was a representative of Trans Global Industrial Holdings.”
Verster led the CCB, a military death-squad, which attacked and killed numerous anti-apartheid activists, including Wits academic Dr David Webster. He is expected to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court soon. ‒ Sapa