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Cape Town - Former Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) president Cheeky Watson has reportedly been arrested on charges of fraud and/or corruption.
According to the Herald LIVE website, Watson and four other people - Nadia Gerwel, Steven Pistorius, Andrea Vessels and Mandisi Mkaza - were arrested by the Hawks on Friday morning.
The arrests follow an ongoing investigation by the Hawks into money laundering and corruption of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s IPTS funds of which up to R200m was squandered.
The arrested parties will appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court later on Friday.
Watson last month stepped down from his role as president of the EPRU.
It came after SA Rugby announced that the administration of the EPRU was set to be returned to local hands following a series of ground-breaking decisions at a special general meeting in Port Elizabeth.
The EPRU’s affairs had been placed into the administrative control of SA Rugby - at the union’s invitation - in April 2016 to help regularise the union’s affairs as it faced a number of financial challenges.
Under Watson as president, the EPRU plunged into a financial crisis in 2015, with the union unable to pay players’ salaries.
Watson had promised a R200m sponsorship for the Kings but this failed to materialise, with players forced to accept food vouchers following the non-payment of salaries.
SA Rugby was eventually forced to step in and take control of the union which was eventually liquidated.
Breaking news:Cheeky Watson,Nadia Gerwel,Steven Pistorius and Andrea Vessels have been arrested. #sabcEC pic.twitter.com/D072fvoZF2
— Lerato Thipa (@LThipa) March 31, 2017
