Eight officials from South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) have been arrested in Mpumalanga for fraud after they allegedly manipulated the system to payout grants – that add up to more than R5.5-million – to people who did not qualify.

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) on Friday said its members in Mpumalanga working with crime intelligence officers arrested the Sassa officials on suspicion of fraud and corruption.

“The suspects, eight women and a man, whose ages range between 32 and 63, allegedly manipulated the system by registering able [bodied] people as people living with disabilities so that those people could receive grant money for which they did not qualify,” said Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi.

“The suspects defrauded the state for over R5.5-million. The investigations into the matter was started in December 2015.”

Captain Sekgotodi said the suspects will appear before the Tonga Magistrate Court on Friday, 24 March 2017.