The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered a massive criminal syndicate responsible for the fraudulent transfer of Ekurhuleni municipal land valued at R58-million into private hands.

On Wednesday, SIU head Leonard Lekgetho announced that the unit will file an application with the Special Tribunal on Friday to review, set aside the unlawful transfers, and recover the financial losses incurred by the municipality.

The multi-million-rand land theft took place between 2018 and 2022 and it targeted 221 vacant stands in the Villa Liza Township, near Boksburg.

The probe was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa in October 2024 under Proclamation No. 195 of 2024, with the final investigation report officially submitted to the Presidency in July of this year.

The SIU’s findings detail a highly coordinated, deliberate scheme to defraud the local government and at the centre of the operation was a "ghost" estate agent and a rogue conveyancing firm.

According to Lekgetho, a designated "estate agent" would identify unallocated municipal land in Villa Liza and orchestrate fraudulent sales.

In a bizarre twist, the Department of Home Affairs confirmed that this "estate agent" passed away on January 10, 2022, yet property transactions continued to be processed in their name long after their death.

The deceased agent’s identity was used to collaborate closely with Moki Attorneys Incorporated, a conveyancing firm owned by Kabelo Valentine Moki.

Crucially, this firm was never part of the Ekurhuleni municipality’s panel of approved attorneys.

Lekgetho explained that Moki Attorneys bypassed municipal systems entirely by lodging fraudulent documents directly with the Johannesburg Deeds Office.

The firm certified that all documents were true and correct using forged rates clearance certificates and fabricated powers of attorney.

Lekgetho further highlighted that buyers paid for the stands in cash, a deliberate tactic used to complicate the tracing of financial trails.

Because the land transfers occurred entirely without a Council resolution, the Ekurhuleni municipality did not receive a single cent from the sales, nor does it currently derive any rate revenue from the properties that have since been developed, he explained.

The investigation revealed that Kabelo Moki and his spouse Makhosazana Emelda Moki, personally enriched themselves through the scheme.

The couple acquired 73 of the stolen stands via the Velamelda Trust and Mokolane Investments.

Deeds Office records showed that each stand was initially "sold" for a mere R18 000. However, actual municipal valuations for these properties ranged from R80 000 to a staggering R3.7-million.

Lekgetho said the stolen stands were later resold to unsuspecting buyers at an average of R250 000 per stand.

Out of the 221 properties listed in the Presidential proclamation, the SIU verified that 208 stands were confirmed to be fraudulently transferred by Moki Attorneys; 8 stands were legally transferred by the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements; 2 were already privately owned prior to the scheme, another 2 remain under the lawful ownership of the municipality and 1 stand could not be found in either municipal or Deeds Registry records.

Lekgetho noted that there is currently no evidence indicating that Ekurhuleni municipal officials participated in the scheme.

The SIU has launched a massive multi-agency legal crackdown against the perpetrators.

The unit has submitted 208 referrals in respect of the fraud to the National Prosecuting Authority for possible prosecution and referrals have been made to the South African Revenue Service for investigation into undeclared income and tax irregularities.

He said regarding the professional consequences management of Moki Attorneys’ matter, the firm has been referred to the Legal Practice Council, and the SIU has also submitted 147 referrals to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FICA) owing to the conveyancer’s non-compliance with FICA legislation whilst effecting the unlawful transfers.

"We are moving to ensure that all parties involved are held criminally accountable," Lekgetho emphasised, solidifying the unit's stance on recovering the stolen public assets.