Custody dispute leads to arrest of fraud suspect wanted for 11 years

When a custody dispute between a man and woman ended up at the Pretoria Central Police Station, a routine fingerprint check led to the man’s arrest as he had been on the fraud wanted list for 11 years.

After disappearing from his job in Dutywa in the Eastern Cape in 2014, Phandelani Klaas (39) was living in Pretoria despite a warrant for his arrest having been issued in 2014 in Mthatha.

In 2014, Klaas worked as a financial branch controller in Dutywa when he allegedly illegally transferred R270,000. It is understood that the Hawks claim he transferred this money to accomplices who have not yet been found. The branch manager uncovered the irregularities, leading to a Hawks investigation. 

But before a warrant was issued for his arrest, Klaas had disappeared.

Then in February, Klaas and his girlfriend were at Pretoria Central Police Station after they had a fight. As a matter of routine, their fingerprints were taken. 

“It was a matter of: “Boss, just wait here so that I can assist you properly,” Hawks spokesperson Anele Fumba said after the police found that Klaas was flagged on the system. He was arrested at the police station.

Klaas appeared before the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on 28 February 2025 and was remanded for transfer. After being held as a prisoner in transit, he appeared before the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on 7 March 2025, where he was formally charged with fraud.

He has been released on bail of R2,000 and will appear in court again on 26 March.

While this arrest was not part of Operation Shanela, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said in answer to a parliamentary question in January that the names of 227,790 suspects had been circulated as “wanted” by the SAPS’ Detective Services, and who had been traced and subsequently arrested as part of Operation Shanela during 2024.

The Hawks said they were also looking for another suspect who had disappeared from the Eastern Cape in 2023 in an unrelated case.

Neliswa Elizabeth Nofilita (52) is a suspect in a fraud and tax evasion case linked to the Road Accident Fund (RAF).

“Despite a nationwide appeal made on 14 August 2024, Nofilita remains at large. Now, law enforcement is ramping up efforts to bring her to justice and your help could make all the difference,” Fumba said.

Fumba said that between 2014 and 2015, Nofilita allegedly manipulated financial records to mislead SARS, falsely declaring that her business was non-operational. She further failed to declare Value Added Tax (VAT) transactions, defrauding SARS of more than R633,000.

She was arrested by the East London Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit of the Hawks on 24 March 2023 and later released on bail after appearing before the East London Magistrates’ Court. However, she failed to appear in court on 23 October 2023, leading to the forfeiture of her bail and the issuing of a warrant for her arrest. DM