The Hawks have arrested two women in connection with a multimillion-rand fraud that involved a senior manager at Cell C, EOH-owned Cornerstone and other companies and individuals.
So far Mohamed Adamjee, Adriaan Pillay, EOH’s Manuel Texeira and Lefuno Nevathalu (both directors of Cornerstone) have been arrested and appeared in the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court. They are due to appear again on February 11.
The two women arrested are married to two of the suspects.
According to a report seen by The Star, they all form part of a well-organised syndicate that defrauded Cell C out of nearly R150 million.
Investigations and a raid on the properties of Adamjee and Pillay, revealed how Cell C (as directed by Adamjee) would overpay EOH’s Cornerstone for goods and Cornerstone would channel, with no lawful reason, part of the overpayment to Pillay’s company, Techno Genius.
Pillay, Adamjee and others then shared in the loot.
Cell C’s lawyers, BDK Attorneys, managed to freeze various bank accounts, raided Adamjee and Pillay’s residences after obtaining an Anton Pillar Order from the High Court and confiscated various exhibits. Summonses have been issued against the arrested individuals and the civil and criminal cases are running parallel.
The Star has been reliably informed that a senior employee of MTN is on the police radar after investigations revealed that he received payments of R3 million from Pillay’s company, Techno Genius.
“There are also other people that will be arrested soon. They all received stolen money from Techno Genius, which acted as a big laundromat of the Cell C ill-gotten gains,” a DPCI source said on the basis of anonymity.
“This fraud was well-planned and employees of listed entities planned and executed it,” he said.
“We are committed to bring to book all the individuals and companies that participated in this grand scheme of fraud on Cell C.
“We only have good things to say about the cooperation we have received from the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority. They have been amazing,” Douglas Craigie Stevenson, chief executive of Cell C, said to The Star.