JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- An independent agency of the South African government on Monday disclosed a "devastating plunder" of public funds at Tembisa Hospital, one of the largest health facilities in the country's Gauteng province.

According to an interim report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) of the government, at least three syndicates looted more than 2 billion rands (about 116 million U.S. dollars) from the hospital, said SIU head advocate Andy Mothibi, adding that the report had exposed widespread corruption involving hospital officials and service providers.

"This staggering sum, intended for the provision of healthcare to the most vulnerable, was instead ruthlessly siphoned off through a complex web of fraud and corruption, representing an egregious betrayal of the nation's trust," Mothibi said.

"Key officials from the Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH) and Tembisa Hospital are accused of benefiting from corrupt payments that facilitated the irregular appointment of service providers, involving money laundering and fraud through fronting and the use of false Supply Chain Management documentation," said Kaizer Kganyago, spokesperson for the SIU.

The SIU report said that at least 15 current and former officials have been identified in involvement of activities such as corruption, money laundering, collusion, and bid rigging with improperly appointed service providers at Tembisa Hospital.

To date, the SIU has prepared 116 disciplinary referrals against 13 officials, of which 108 were delivered to the GDOH relating to maladministration, as well as the irregular appointment of service providers at the Tembisa Hospital, the report said. ■