Pretoria – The Mokopane Regional Court in Limpopo on Friday sentenced Nwabisa Goci, Tshepo Daniel Sehlapelo and Lefty Nkabe Makalela to 15 years’ imprisonment each after they were convicted of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.
“This is in connection with the defrauding of the investment account of Royal Bafokeng Holdings (PTY) Ltd amounting to R608 million.
’’The trial of the fourth accused, Aronne Madanda, was separated and he will be tried in Modimolle Regional Court on similar charges,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Limpopo spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi.
“The accused were members of a syndicate which operated in Limpopo province and held a meeting with an Absa employee at Nandos Tubatse, in Burgersfort, on how to execute their plan.
’’The accused approached an Absa employee, requesting that she assist a syndicate to access the investment account of Royal Bafokeng Holdings.”
The bank employee informed authorities, who monitored the fraudsters’ activities inside the bank.
“They were arrested after presenting fraudulent identity documents. No money was accessed by the syndicate.
’’In aggravation of sentence, (prosecutor) Advocate Sammy Mogoshi said that the offences were properly planned over a period of time and the accused were motivated by greed,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.
The director of public prosecutions in Limpopo, Advocate Ivy Thenga, commended the “good work” of the investigation team and the prosecution.
Last month, a 27-year-old consultant at Absa Bank in Elim, Limpopo was arrested for alleged fraud of R25 million.
It is alleged that Fhatuwani Mudzanani stole R25 million from the Limpopo provincial government accounts and deposited it into different accounts that he had opened.
African News Agency (ANA)