EASTERN CAPE – The Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court fined 37-year-old Bandlakazi Bambeni R150 000-00 or 12 months direct imprisonment on 06 September 2022 for fraud.

On 23 October 2019, the client of Old Mutual went to their offices in a mall at Mthatha to seek advice on applying for a consolidation loan. Bambeni persuaded the client to apply for an additional loan of R176 000-00 which was declined by Old Mutual due to excessive number of deductions on the client’s payslip. Bambeni made alterations on the client’s payslip to make him qualify for the loan in the absence of the client. Unfortunately for Bambeni, the forensic team of Old Mutual easily detected the orchestration and immediately lodged a complaint with the Mthatha based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team for exploration.

The investigation ensued and led to the arrest of Bambeni on 14 July 2022. She made her first appearance in court on 15 July 2022 and was released on bail. She made a number of court appearances in Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court where she was ultimately convicted and sentenced.

Source: South African Police Service