FREE STATE – The accused, Chilleroy Floyed Buys (40) appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 28 September 2022, where he pleaded guilty for fraud and money laundering.
In 2017, Mosa Harington Tseleli (39) who was an employee of Standard Bank facilitated the process of completing a vehicle finance application and personal loans for his co-accused persons, Buys, Simon Cornelius Botha (49), Glen Ceasar Crouch (34), Jolene Crouch (38), and Veronica Crouch (33) without meeting the requirements. After the deals were fraudulently approved, the accused bought several high-end vehicles such as BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen. As a result of the fraudulent activities, Standard Bank and Wesbank were prejudiced and suffered a total loss of more than R6 million.
The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Bloemfontein for further investigation which culminated to the arrest of six accused on 10 February 2020.
The court sentenced Buys to 12 years imprisonment which was wholly suspended for five years. He was also ordered to pay back the amount of R300 000-00 back to Standard bank and Wesbank on a monthly instalment of R5000-00. He was also sentenced to 12 months correctional supervision.
Meanwhile, the trial against his co-accused is ongoing.
Source: South African Police Service