Retrenched worker claims she uncovered R12m fraud at MTN

The dispute between MTN and its former senior legal adviser, Violet Magagane, had been kept under wraps until this week, when the Johannesburg Labour Court heard claims of large-scale fraud involving more than R12m. Central to the dispute is Magagane's claim that she was victimised and retrenched for blowing the whistle on alleged fraudulent transactions involving MTN's chief corporate services officer, Robert Madzonga. The details of the alleged fraud are contained in a forensic audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Magagane's employment at MTN ended last year after she raised the alarm about Madzonga's alleged signing of 78 invoices from consultancy Nozuko Nxusani Attorneys. The law firm was hired for work apparently done by the MTN legal department, notes The Times. The PwC report says the invoices were mainly for drafting agreements, which Nozuko Nxusani was allegedly not contracted to do. It says Madzonga was not involved in day-to-day legal matters and had no reason to appoint external attorneys for work usually done by internal legal advisers. There was no evidence of work done by the firm and there should have been more than one signature on the invoices, PwC said. The document shows that MTN paid R12.2m to Nozuko Nxusani Attorneys between March 2010 and March 2011. Full report in The Times