SA chief of US Centres for Disease Control appears for 'complex' fraud case
14 December 2018
The South African branch chief of the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is not the only accused in a hefty fraud and corruption case involving more than R25m, it emerged this week.
Alfred Bere, 36, dressed in a smart suit, made his second appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Thursday after being arrested in August.
He was tasked with the role of overseeing donated funds and allegedly misused the funds for personal gain.
The court heard that another accused would stand alongside Bere at his next appearance on January 24.
Prosecutor advocate Lucinda Mcani, SC, said it was a "complex matter" spanning several companies.
The investigation had so far identified over 100 bank accounts linked to the charges.
R100 000 bail
In September, Hawks spokesperson Captain Philani Nkwalase said funds were donated from the US and were meant to be redistributed to deserving non-profit organisations to fight the spread of diseases by providing healthcare services.He said it was alleged that the funds were injected to one deserving NPO, which was later coerced to take up another separate NPO as a subsidiary."The funds from the subsidiary [were] allegedly used for personal gain and further transferred to [the accused's] personal account.
Bere is out on R100 000 bail.
Mcani told Magistrate Greg Jacobs that she wanted him to note Bere had not informed the investigating officer that he was no longer living at the address he provided in Lynnwood, Pretoria.
"The investigating officer only found out from the attorney when contacting him for something else."
Bere was warned to abide by his bail conditions.
