Members attached to Provincial Commercial Crime Investigations arrested a 59-year-old woman in Laaiplek, West Coast for fraud, money laundering, theft, forgery and uttering to the value of R2.5 million, with a combined potential loss of R4.5 million.
An external auditor whose services were requested by the owner of a shipping company to obtain a tax clearance certificate found fraudulent activities on the company’s accounts. Further auditing of the company’s books proved to be riddled with irregularities which led the owner to open a criminal case.
According to reports the suspect was employed as a bookkeeper at a shipping company in Laaiplek and was responsible for all creditors and debtors accounts. Between the period of January 2016 and June 2019, she fraudulently transferred money from the complainants’ business account into her personal bank account and various other family members’ bank accounts as well as her own business account.
It is further alleged that she also used the company’s credit cards to purchase personal goods including, but not limited to, overseas trips. She also acquired property and a vehicle which was registered in her own name. The suspect forged and presented documents to convince the owner that the vehicle was registered in the company name.
On 2022-07-07 members arrested the suspect and she is due to appear in the Laaiplek Magistrates court on Monday 2022-07-11 on the mentioned chargers.
Source: South African Police Service