Pretoria - An amount of R85 000 paid into fraudulent accounts by the City of Tshwane eight years ago can't be recovered, according to a council report.
The amount was paid into false accounts opened in the names of some city employees during the financial period 2009/2010.
According to a council report, the scam first came to light after some officials complained about their unpaid monthly salaries.
That led to a preliminary investigation, which showed that some unknown people had changed banking details of officials without their permission.
The City also launched an in-depth investigation with a view to recover the amount paid into the false accounts.
However, after eight years of probing it was decided that the amount could not be recovered.
MMC for Finance Mare-Lise Fourie said the crime related to activities that happened during the previous ANC-led administration, saying it was not a recent occurrence.
She condemned the fact that the City incurred wasteful and fruitless expenditure because "it was unacceptable".
DA councillor Peter Sutton said the fraudulent activity happened in 2010 when some officials' bank details were doctored without their consent.
"There has been an investigation conducted and the recommendation was that the money can't be recovered," he said.