Probe into fraudulent transfer of properties established

An investigation has been launched by the Deeds Office in Pretoria into the alleged irregular and fraudulent transfer of more than 30 properties owned by the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC).

The transfer of the properties was facilitated by a high-ranking official at the Deeds Office. Pogiso Mesefo, the registrar of the Deeds Office in Pretoria, said on Friday he was only aware of the alleged irregular and fraudulent property transfers from media reports.

However, Mesefo confirmed he had been tasked by chief registrar of deeds Sam Lefafa to go deeper into the matter and check if the allegations were true.

Mesefo said he would be going through all the transactions and then make a finding. Internal disciplinary hearings would be instituted against the person or people involved if the allegations were accurate.

Property transfer documents seen by Business Report reveal a number of irregularities in the transfer of the properties, including some with transfer duty certificates that were only issued a day or more after the transfer had been registered.

Most of the properties were transferred within a day of the transfer documentation being lodged and some of the normal Deeds Office examination processes were completely bypassed, while most of the transfer documents had an undated power of attorney, which should have led to them having a rejection note.

Helen Botes, the managing director of the Johannesburg Housing Company, confirmed the ownership of 33 of its properties had been irregularly transferred, but could not rule out the possibility that more properties were involved because the probe was still on.

"We are determined to review many transactions during the investigation, which started in March," she said. "The executive mayor has ordered a crackdown on all possible suspicious property transfers within the city's jurisdiction. This includes bringing in the law enforcement authorities to assist internal and external investigators."

Botes added that the investigation was not limited to a specific period because the JPC was unsure of the period in which irregular and fraudulent transactions took place.

She said the irregular and fraudulent transfer of one JPC property in February, followed by two in March and 30 last month, was picked up during a random check.

"All the documentation presented to us as proof of transfer are forged and fraudulent. The properties were transferred in the Pretoria Deeds Office and our investigation reveals that properties are being transferred at an abnormally fast speed. In some cases, properties are transferred overnight. In our experience with our other property transactions, it normally takes up to three months to transfer properties," she added.

Botes said court interdicts had been obtained for all 33 properties to prevent further trading in these properties and recover them. The JPC had not received any money for the 33 properties, she added.

Peet Viljoen Attorneys in Pretoria were involved in the 33 property transactions. Botes said this firm was not mandated by the JPC to transfer the parcels on behalf of the JPC and Viljoen was not on the JPC's panel of transferring attorneys.

Business Report

Posted at 09:06AM May 17, 2010 by Editor in Cities and Towns  |  Comments[4]