WESTERN CAPE – Reuben Swartz a Chairperson of the South African Religious Civic Organization (SARCO) made a brief appearance today in the Bellville Serious Commercial Crimes Court on charges of fraud and money laundering.
This comes after his arrest by the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation team in December 2020 and was later released on R10 000-00 bail. It is alleged that Swartz fraudulently claimed money from Employee Temporary Relief Program (TERS) from UIF valued at R 297 800-00 and used it for personal gain.
The investigation further revealed that Swartz received up to R170 000-00 from the City’s humanitarian fund, which was meant to provide food parcels in Atlantis but instead the money was allegedly channelled to a church in Table View with ties to Councillor Grose. At this stage nothing links Councillor Grose to TERS funding as reported before.
The matter against Swartz is postponed to the 23 June 2021 for further particulars.
Source: South African Police Service