Former KPMG bursary officer Fidelis Moema, his co-accused Trevor Machimane, and Lebohang Sigubudu have each been granted R50 000 bail.
The Johannesburg Commercial Crime Court sitting in the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court granted the trio bail on Friday, warning them that they should not have any contact with state witnesses.
They are charged with fraud and money-laundering involving the missing R16.5-million in KPMG bursary funds.
Funds moved for ex-lovers’ accounts
Moema is the baby-daddy of content creator and luxury property consultant Sthe Bhengu, while Machimane is a business owner, and Sigubudu is a traffic officer at the Tshwane Metro Police Department
Moema was arrested by the Hawks for allegedly diverting funds amounting to R16.5-million into bank accounts belonging to his ex-girlfriends and friends.
He has been employed by KPMG as a bursary specialist since August 31 2018. According to KPMG, Moema was dismissed on November 22 2022.
Magistrate Sharon Soko said that the amount of R50,000 was suitable in light of the total that the trio allegedly stole from KPMG.
Warmed against intimidating witnesses
Soko also warned them against intimidating the witnesses and asked the state to draw up a list of these witnesses and share it with the defence.
On Thursday, Moema, through his lawyer, told the court he could only afford R25 000, while Machimane said he could pay R3 000 and Sigubudu R4 000.
The matter has been remanded to May 24.
Mandla Mushwana, who represents Machimane, attempted to bring new evidence before the court during the bail ruling.
Mushwana told the court that he has new evidence to submit and would like to make an admission.
Mushwana made the claim that the bank statement that the state has for his client does not reflect the one that he has in his possession.
Responsibility for bursary process
Soko dismissed Mushwana, telling him that this new evidence should wait for trial and that the honours lay with him as he closed his case during bail application arguments on Thursday.
Moema, as part of his duties at KPMG, was responsible for the bursary process for various students.
These included “academic students, new applications, renewals, payments, recoveries, reporting, and drafting.”.
“The funds were for the Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban KPMG offices in South Africa.”
