Businesswoman Who Applied for Sassa Pension While Cashing in From Tenders Found Guilty of Fraud

Sarathamoney Devi Sigamoney, a 67-year-old businesswoman from Gauteng, has been convicted of theft, fraud, and perjury in the Pretoria North Regional Court. Sigamoney defrauded the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) while benefiting from lucrative tenders awarded by the South African Police Service (SAPS). The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) revealed that Sigamoney applied for an old age grant on April 13, 2017, falsely claiming in a supporting affidavit that she had not worked for over 20 years. Despite being a director of KJP Traders Pty, a company that had secured multi-million rand contracts with SAPS since 2012, she received approximately R123,000 in Sassa pension payments between July 2017 and July 2022. Even after charges were brought against her, Sigamoney continued to collect the grant for an additional 16 months. KJP Traders, co-owned with her son Matthew Pillay, is reported to have earned approximately R88 million from SAPS contracts, with the last payment occurring in 2022. The case has been postponed to October 31, when the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) will apply for a forfeiture order to recover the defrauded funds. Sentencing will be determined at a later date.