{
  "id": 7778253,
  "title": "Ekurhuleni municipality’s vacant stands valued at R58m fraudulently transferred",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/ekurhuleni-municipalitys-vacant-stands-valued-at-r58m-fraudulently",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T11:27:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/ekurhuleni-municipalitys-vacant-stands-valued-at-r58m-fraudulently-transferred/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered a fraud involving the transfer of 208 vacant municipal stands, valued at R58 million, from Ekurhuleni municipality to private hands between 2018 and 2022. The stands, located in Villa Liza township in Boksburg, were allegedly sold to individuals for approximately R18,000 each, but their actual value ranges from R80,000 to R3.7 million according to municipal valuations. The transfers occurred without a Council resolution, and the municipality has not received any revenue from the sales. The SIU investigation, authorized by President Cyril Ramaphosa under Proclamation 195 of 2024, aimed to determine whether the transfers violated municipality's legislation, guidelines, or practices, and whether employees or officials engaged in unlawful conduct to benefit themselves or others. One of the alleged estate agents involved in the fraudulent transfers died in January 2020, while the other, Kabelo Valentine Moki, acted as a conveyancer. The transactions were conducted in cash, making it difficult to trace the financial movement. No evidence suggests that municipality officials were involved in the scheme, but the SIU is continuing its investigation through lifestyle audits and partnerships with state security to uncover more details about the scheme. The SIU plans to file an application at a Special Tribunal to review and set aside the unlawful transfer, recover losses incurred by the municipality, and refer the matter to the National Prosecuting Authority for further action to hold all parties involved accountable.",
  "summary": "One of the people who allegedly acted as an estate agent in the fraudulent transfer of the stands died in January 2020.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SABC News",
        "title": "SIU probes fraudulent transfer of 208 Ekurhuleni stands",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/siu-probes-fraudulent-transfer-of-208-ekurhuleni-stands",
        "published": "2026-09-16T12:46:42.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}