The case against a man facing criminal charges arising from his alleged false pretence to be a prosecutor and extortion has been remanded to 29 March. The alleged bogus prosecutor, William Ratau Moreki (49), is remanded in custody for further investigation.
He is expected to reappear in the Bothaville Magistrate’s Court on the said date to apply for bail. He appeared briefly in court on 3 March, following his arrest by the Welkom-based Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team with the assistance of the provincial Anti-Corruption unit and Provincial Organised Crime in Bothaville. Moreki is facing charges of extortion.
Capt. Christopher Singo, provincial spokesperson of the Hawks, said the arrest came after the would-be victim blew the whistle, alerting the police. He said the police were alerted a day before the transaction would be made. He said the whistle blower has a pending criminal matter against him, arising from a crime that occurred in 2021.The complainant is also facing charge of extortion, it was confirmed.
“Moreki allegedly approached the man and demanded R100 000 to ‘withdraw’ the charges against him,” Singo said. He said the two men reportedly met at a particular bank in the Bothaville central business district (CBD) where the demanded gratification payment was made.
According to Singo, the complainant requested the money from a fixed account. “The suspect demanded R5 000 to be withdrawn from the automated teller machine (ATM) while waiting for the release of the entire amount from the bank. The suspect was arrested after the transaction,” said Singo.
