A staggering R100m meant to benefit members of the police and other public safety workers has disappeared from Popcru Group of Companies (PGC), the investment arm of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), forcing its auditors to pull out.

Sowetan has established that the money, which was supposed to be paid to Popcru, was moved to a company that was allegedly not authorised to receive the funds.

A letter written by auditors, SNG Grant Thornton, which Sowetan has seen, revealed that a company called PGC Management Services (PGCMS) received referral fees that were supposed to be paid back to Popcru when new members take up investment products from companies owned by the union.

"Upon inspection of the bank statement of Workers Life Direct, it was identified that referral fees, amounting to approximately R100m, were paid over to PGCMS as opposed to Popcru or PGC. We cannot make a determination as to whether the above mentioned fees were paid across from PGCMS to Popcru and PGC, as PGCMS is unaudited," states the letter sent by auditors to Workers Life Direct, one of the companies owned by the union.

Workers Life Direct is a broker selling insurance products underwritten by Workers Life Assuarance and Workers Life Insurance, all under the PGC.

According to the auditors' letter, Mpho Dipela, a then director of PGC, was also a director of PGCMS.