Hawks swoop on luxury Cinderella home, woman charged with fraud of over R460-million
A 43-year-old Cinderella woman, Hildegard Antoinette Steenkamp, was arrested by the Hawks Commercial Crime Unit on Wednesday, December 13, for allegedly defrauding her former employer, a medical equipment company, of over R460-million.
She appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court today (Friday) on charges of fraud‚ theft and money laundering.
Steenkamp was granted bail of R250 000 on condition that she must not interfere with the state witnesses, must submit both her passport and identity documents to the investigating officer, must not leave town without the knowledge of the investigating officer, must report at Boksburg Police Station three times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) and must not relocate from her Cinderella residence without informing the investigating officer.
The case was postponed to February 28, next year, for further investigation.
Hawks spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mulamu said the woman, who worked as an accountant at multinational medical equipment supplier Medtronic‚ based in Midrand, allegedly duplicated the payments by transferring money directly into her late husband’s bank account. The arrest came after a three-month investigation.
“The Hawks descended on the suspect’s house with search-and-seizure warrants and attached the woman’s 11 luxury vehicles, motorcycles and seven immovable properties with their furniture, appliances and jewellery, worth millions of rand,” said Mulamu in a statement.
It was also reported that after the woman resigned‚ the company’s new accountant picked up irregularities and the information was then handed to the Hawks about three months ago.
The Hawks are continuing with their investigation into the matter.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation provincial head, Major General Prince Mokotedi, congratulated the members for their sterling work during the investigation and warned that the Hawks will stop at nothing to arrest those who engage in criminality.
“This should serve as a serious warning that crime does not pay.
“Companies, on the other hand, should take stock of their internal processes to curtail this kind of criminal activity.
“I’m proud of my team, especially for the quick turnaround time, because these types of cases tend to take long to solve,” said Mokotedi. -@MthuphaFanie
