LIMPOPO – Four suspects alleegdly caught attempting to fraudulently transfer an amount of R12 million from a business account at a bank in Burgersfort, where nabbed by the ‘Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team on Thursday.
In a statement issued by Spokesperson for the Hawks, Capt Matimba Maluleke he said the team received a tip-off about the planned crime and managed to arrests the suspects, aged between 34 and 55, inside a bank at a local mall, while they were being served by a consultant whom they had apparently offered a bribe to assist them access funds from a business account they provided.
“It is alleged that the plot was for the consultant to make an immediate transfer of a substantial amount into the several accounts provided by the suspects. The consultant was reportedly promised a significant amount of money per transaction that was to be repeated on a weekly basis until the said account was drained,” Maluleke added.
He explained in the statement that the consultant who was approached, cooperatively played along after having alerted the manager and the suspects were arrested while still submitting their account details.
“All four appeared before the Praktiseer Magistrate Court today (Friday, 24 May) on charges of fraud and were remanded in custody until 5 June for formal bail application.”
This incident marks the second time the same bank was targeted in a similar manner. Last year, between July and August, four suspects, aged between 28 and 42, were arrested by the Hawks after they allegedly attempted to defraud over R100 million from Royal Bafokeng Trust account in the same branch.
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Three of the four were granted R3000 bail and they will appear at Mokopane Regional Court on 28 June 2019 for sentencing while the fourth is still on trial.
