Four directors of a company that offers snacks and combination machines appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday facing charges of fraud and money laundering.
The four Top Vending directors are Kenneth Dirk Tucker (61), Steward Beric Brown (60), Jan Albert Marais (48), and Willem Jacobus Swart (38).
They are accused of embezzling R131-million from financial services firm Phezulu Ilanga Vending, a company with which they had business ties.
It is alleged that the quartet conspired to gain unauthorised signatory powers over the bank accounts of Phezulu Ilanga Vending, enabling them to conduct unlawful transactions and inflate business invoices.
These actions, spanning from 2015 to the present, reportedly caused Phezulu Ilanga Vending a staggering financial loss of R131-million.
The accused were arrested at their workplace on Tuesday and made their first court appearance the following day. The court granted each accused a bail of R20 000 and postponed the case until August 6.
Authorities continue to investigate the extent of the alleged financial misconduct.
In a separate case in the Western Cape, Riaan Dandrey Belelie (39) was convicted and sentenced by the George Regional Court for defrauding his victim of R300 000 through a fraudulent house sale transaction in August 2018.
This comes after he entered into a plea agreement with the state on charges of fraud, forgery, and uttering.
Belelie received a sentence of eight years in prison, four of which were suspended for five years.
According to the court, on August 3, 2018, the fraud victim agreed to sell the house to Belelie for R780 000.
The terms of the agreement stipulated that the accused should pay a deposit of R350 000 on the date of signing the contract.
The accused is required to pay the balance of R430 000 in three instalments of R143 334, in addition to a monthly rent payment of R5 000.
The complainant received a proof of payment in the amount of R300 000 via email on August 5, 2018. It was sent on Standard Bank’s internet banking letterhead.
Upon receipt of proof of payment, the accused moved into the property. Subsequently, it was discovered that the proof of payment was counterfeit.
The discovery led to the arrest of the accused.
