Man steals R1.5m from bank, hides evidence while on bail

A Free State Man who defrauded Standard Bank R1.5 million has been sentenced to 10 years for defeating the ends of justice as he tried to hide evidence while out on bail.

Hopewell Mpanduli Daguma from Bethlehem in the Free State was fingered by a Standard Bank forensic investigation when it discovered one of its employees Thandeka Mlangeni, 32, who was based at one of the bank’s Harrismith branches issued a fraudulent bank card using another client’s details.

“A case was opened and handed over to the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in Bethlehem. This resulted in Daguma and Mlangeni being arrested on Thursday, 20 August 2020. They appeared in court and were later released on R5,000 bail each,” Free State Hawks spokesperson Christopher Singo said.

Singho said Daguma after being released on bail sold the vehicle he had bought with the stolen money for R125,000.

“He was rearrested and his bail was revoked.”

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“The court additionally convicted him of money laundering, assisting another person to benefit from the proceeds of unlawful activities and defeating the ends of justice,” Singo said.

Daguma was on Thursday sentenced to 10 years imprisonment of which four years was suspended.