Scorpion investigators were moving in on parliamentarians this week after arresting seven travel agents in the unfolding multimillion-rand travel voucher scam.
”Further action is imminent,” confirmed Scorpions spokesperson Sipho Ngwema on Thursday, refusing to be drawn beyond saying that ”the next phase is concentrating on MPs”.
The fraud and theft charge sheets are damning: ”Accused … [being employed by the travel agency] and accused … [being members of Parliament], knowing that travel warrants could only be used for air travel, conspired to have travel warrants extended to cover additional costs incurred on their behalf as well — inter alia, car hire and hotel accommodation.”
The charge sheets were presented to the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court when the travel agents appeared on Wednesday.
”Members of Parliament would provide the travel agency with signed travel warrants in order to enable them to submit these fraudulent claims. Members of Parliament benefited directly from the scheme by effectively having their travel warrants ‘redeemed’ for benefits they were not entitled to and/or even for cash,” the charge sheets read.
And the fraud is set out in detail. Additional costs were claimed from Parliament ”under the disguise of valid claims for air tickets” by:
issuing and cancelling air tickets on the same day, but nevertheless submitting an invoice to Parliament;
altering the destinations to inflate the fare;
copying official parliamentary travel vouchers and submitting these as valid claims;
issuing tickets to non-MPs using a parliamentarian’s personal details; and
claiming more than once for an air ticket.
Parliament on Thursday declined to comment, referring all queries to the Scorpions.
For a year Parliament maintained there was no evidence that MPs were wilfully involved in the travel voucher scam. When then-speaker Frene Ginwala called on parliamentarians to come clean, no one came forward.
The African National Congress at Parliament is watching ”the process with interest”. ANC spokesperson Vusi Mahaye said: ”We do not know how many, if any, of our members are involved and affected.”
The Democratic Alliance said on Thursday that the law must take its course regardless of allegiances.
The arrest of MPs would be the first major step against parliamentarians. Several, from across the political spectrum, have been named in connection with the scam.
What appears to have opened the door to the fraud is the practice among many parliamentarians to simply sign travel vouchers — which state MPs must complete — and leave them to their secretaries to complete before submission to travel agents.
The nub of the criminal investigation is in determining which MPs contributed by omission — a failure to adhere to parliamentary rules —and which MPs consciously participated in the scam.
In 2000 Parliament reprimanded two MPs, both from the ANC, for misuse of travel vouchers in that year.
Parliament at the start of each year issues MPs a ”chequebook” of travel vouchers to be used for themselves and identified immediate family members for travel between Cape Town, their homes and constituencies.
The vouchers are used to book flights. The travel agents claim the cash from Parliament with the voucher, a copy of the flight ticket, an invoice and a monthly statement of their business.
It was Parliament’s action following the forensic audit it had ordered in early 2003 that unearthed the travel scam. Initially it was estimated about R4-million had been siphoned off; this now stands at around R13-million.
In mid-2003 Parliament laid criminal charges against six travel agencies. It also stopped reimbursements of about R2,5-million as finance officials extended their probe several years back to 1999.
One agency sued Parliament for withholding funds, at least two went into liquidation and the names of senior MPs — ruling party heavyweights and opposition party members and leaders — kept on popping up in newspaper reports.
According to the Cape Argus, in October last year Itc director Estelle Aggujaro, one of the travel agents arrested this week, claimed in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court during her company’s liquidation hearing that 20 MPs had made irregular travel arrangements.
The arrested travel agents include Itc’s Aggujaro and Mustapha Solomons; Business and Executive Travel director Soraya Beukes, partner of Western Cape finance minister Lynne Brown, who is the ANC Western Cape treasurer; Star Travel Bureau agents Graham Gedult and Nazley Lackey; and, from Bathong Travel, Mpho Lebelo and Shamiela Limalila, who also worked for Itc.
All are out on bail of between R15 000 and R100 000 until their next court appearance on September 9. So far no one has been arrested from Ilitha Travel and Tours and Eyabanthu, two agencies also under investigation.