Thabo Thobeli (59), a company director, pleaded guilty to 49 counts of fraud on behalf of his company, Botsho Botle CC, and 50 counts of money laundering in his personal capacity. He appeared before the Kimberley Serious Commercial Crimes Court on Monday, 25 May 2026.
Between April 2020 and December 2020, Thobeli served as a director of Botsho Botle CC. The company submitted fraudulent COVID-19 Temporary Employment Relief Fund claims to the Department of Labour. Thobeli forged payslips and made submissions misrepresenting that certain individuals worked for his company.
The Department of Labour made payments to Botsho Botle CC based on the fraudulent documents. The department suffered a loss of R145,000, which was paid to the company but never reached the beneficiaries on whose behalf the claims were made.
The case will return to the same court for pre-sentence and probation reports, as well as sentencing, on 10 July 2026.
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