RAF to help SIU probe fraudulent lawyers’ claims
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has volunteered to assist the Health Department and the SIU to investigate fraudulent claims by lawyers.
A Daily Dispatch report says this follows Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and SIU head Andy Mothibi outlining the ‘explosion’ of medical malpractice litigation against provincial health departments and individual health practitioners.
The RAF said it is willing to assist the SIU and the department in their investigations of fraudulent activities.
‘Defrauding government departments and entities robs South Africans, claimants and their families of their livelihoods. It is profoundly disappointing that some hospital patients and accident survivors encounter thieves disguised as professionals,’ said RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo.
The fund said the revelation is a vindication of what it has often said about lawyers being at the forefront of grand-scale looting of state coffers.
The RAF said from 2020/21 to 2022/23 – through its internal Forensic Investigation Department – it successfully stopped fraudulent claims to the value of R2.6bn.
‘This is money that could have been paid out if it were not for the measures put in place to fight corruption. The fund’s fraud strategy includes that of deterring, preventing and intercepting corruption internally and via partnerships,’ it said.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
