LEC uncovers massive M81 million fraud 

… through a  bogus electricity sales scheme 

…drags employee and accomplices to court 

Mohloai Mpesi / Hopolang Mokhopi 

THE Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) has uncovered an alleged M81 million electricity fraud scheme that had reportedly been running since 2015. 

The fraud was allegedly masterminded by an LEC Sales Agent Officer, Tlotliso Bereng, who is accused of illegally loading electricity units for sales agents using the now-defunct postpaid system and sharing the proceeds with them. 

The scandal came to light after Acting Managing Director, Tšeliso Mokela, launched an internal drive aimed at identifying financial leakages that were preventing the power utility from becoming profitable. 

His subsequent investigations uncovered widespread corruption involving sales agents and some LEC employees. 

Bereng (50) appeared before the Maseru Magistrates Court yesterday alongside Nthabiseng Sofe (59), Mapota Letlela (30), Malethosa Ramothello and Muso Mosa (41). 

The five are charged with defrauding LEC of M26,168,198.96. 

The M26 million is only part of the alleged M81 million loss, meaning more charges and additional suspects are expected as investigations continue. Authorities believe other sales agents also benefited from the scheme. 

According to LEC Stakeholder Relations Manager, Makhetha Motšoari, the probe began after management sought to establish why the utility continued to struggle financially. 

“LEC has financial problems, but the CEO realised that the company would not recover financially unless the leakages were identified,” Mr Motšoari said. 

“It was then discovered that there was long-unaccounted-for money and it was unclear where it had gone.” 

He said the company subsequently launched a detailed audit of its books and records. 

“As a result, the company embarked on a campaign to check the books and records so that the leakage could be identified. It was then discovered that there was a lot of money lost through fraudulent electricity sales to agents. Somewhere, prices were also unnecessarily inflated,” he said. 

“This issue involves people who are still employed by the company and others who have already left. Mr Mokela’s intention is to block all leakages.” 

Mr Motšoari said police officers stationed at LEC were brought into the matter after management uncovered evidence of collusion between staff members and outsiders. 

“The management realised there were violations committed by staff members working together with members of the public. Police officers stationed at LEC were informed and asked to investigate,” he said. 

He explained that police officers were deployed at LEC under a memorandum of understanding between the utility and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service to help combat crime affecting the state-owned enterprise. 

“This is just the beginning. The investigations are still ongoing and we believe they are going to uncover more rot involving current and former LEC employees.” 

The scheme 

According to highly placed sources, Bereng allegedly worked with about nine sales agents and companies, illegally loading electricity units for them at the expense of LEC. 

Sources familiar with the investigation said he used the now-defunct LEC postpaid system to load electricity for the agents, with whom he now stands accused of defrauding the power utility. 

Postpaid system 

Sources told this publication that under the old postpaid system, sales agents were allowed to load electricity first and pay the LEC later after making sales. 

However, the system was eventually abandoned around 2015 after it was found to be ineffective and financially unsustainable. 

“Sales agents used to access electricity directly from LEC servers and sell it without proper monitoring of how much electricity they had taken or sold,” a source said. 

“LEC would only demand payment later after the agents had already sold the electricity. But the system was not effective because some agents failed to pay, which is why it was later replaced with the prepaid system.” 

Prepaid system 

The prepaid system was introduced in 2015, requiring sales agents to first deposit money into an LEC account before electricity could be loaded for resale. 

Sources said Bereng, as a Sales Agent Officer, was responsible for loading electricity units and handling complaints from sales agents. 

“In the prepaid system, an agent has to deposit money first before electricity is loaded. If an agent deposits M50 000, for example, LEC loads electricity equivalent to that amount, including commission,” the source said. 

“There is a department responsible for loading electricity. Mr Bereng worked directly with sales agents, attending to their complaints and loading electricity for them, although he was not the only officer performing that role.” 

The theft 

Investigators believe the fraud began in 2015 shortly after the introduction of the prepaid system, with Bereng allegedly continuing to use the old postpaid system to benefit his accomplices. 

The source said suspicions were raised after investigators noticed that some sales agents’ balances remained unchanged despite ongoing electricity sales. 

Under normal circumstances, an agent’s balance decreases as electricity units are sold. 

However, investigators allegedly discovered that Bereng would temporarily remove certain agents from the prepaid system and transfer them into the obsolete postpaid system, allowing them to load electricity without paying. 

“Suppose an agent deposits M50 000 and receives electricity worth that amount. As sales continue, the balance in the system is expected to decrease accordingly,” the source explained. 

“But investigators noticed suspicious cases where balances remained stagnant while sales were ongoing. That is what triggered the investigation.” 

Investigators reportedly discovered that Bereng manipulated the LEC “Add and Remove System” which could be used to either add, remove or transfer agents between systems. 

“It was discovered that Bereng would remove certain agents from the prepaid system and temporarily shift them into the defunct postpaid system, where they could load electricity freely without paying LEC,” the source alleged. 

“After selling the units, the agents would allegedly share the proceeds with Bereng on a 50/50 basis before being re-added to the prepaid system to avoid detection.” 

Sources further alleged that Bereng and Sofe alone may have defrauded LEC of more than M17 million, as Sofe’s customers reportedly included large companies with high electricity consumption. 

Court appearance 

Bereng and his four co-accused appeared before Magistrate Lebusa Tšosane, with Advocate Shebe prosecuting. 

The prosecution alleges that between September 2015 and December 2025, the accused connived to defraud LEC, causing losses amounting to M26,168,198.96. 

Magistrate Tšosane granted each accused bail of M1 000 on condition that they do not interfere with police investigations or witnesses and that they attend all remand hearings. 

The matter was postponed to 26 May 2026 for further police investigations. 

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