A member of a syndicate that infiltrated the investment account of a German national, managing to withdraw R400,000 before the bank froze the account, has been found guilty of fraud in the Gqeberha commercial crimes court.
Mzwakhe Khumalo, 33, was also convicted of contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
The court found that between December 2017 and March 2018, the complainant’s investment account was accessed by two bank employees.
The contact information of the account holder was changed, and the existing signing authority on the account was cancelled, with a new signing authority granted to another member of the syndicate.
Provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said this individual then transferred funds from the victim’s investment account to his cheque account before attempting to withdraw the cash.
When this was unsuccessful, a hold was placed on the cheque account.
Another member of the syndicate then transferred the balance of the money in the account to another account opened with fraudulent documentation.
An amount of R400,000 was successfully withdrawn before the account was frozen by the bank.
Mgolodela said the German national was not in SA at the time of the fraud.
“The syndicate members could not have been able to obtain the information or access the account without the assistance of the two bank officials who were later arrested.
“On his return from Germany in March 2018, the client made the shocking discovery that R400,000 was missing from his investment account and immediately lodged a complaint.”
The matter was referred to the Gqeberha-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit of the Hawks.
Mgolodela said further investigations revealed that the complainant could have been defrauded of more than R4.8m had further transactions not been intercepted by the bank.
Khumalo and his co-accused, Lwando Dingiswayo, 30, were arrested on September 29 2021.
They appeared in the Gqeberha’s magistrate’s court, where they were later released on warning.
After a series of court appearances, Dingiswayo pleaded guilty in March 2023.
Khumalo pleaded not guilty and his matter proceeded to trial.
He was ultimately convicted on Monday.
Khumalo and Dingiswayo will be sentenced on April 29.
The identity of the other syndicate members has not been established.
HeraldLIVE
Syndicate member convicted in Nelson Mandela Bay of defrauding German national
Image: OLIVER LE MOAL/123RF
A member of a syndicate that infiltrated the investment account of a German national, managing to withdraw R400,000 before the bank froze the account, has been found guilty of fraud in the Gqeberha commercial crimes court.
Mzwakhe Khumalo, 33, was also convicted of contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
The court found that between December 2017 and March 2018, the complainant’s investment account was accessed by two bank employees.
The contact information of the account holder was changed, and the existing signing authority on the account was cancelled, with a new signing authority granted to another member of the syndicate.
Provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said this individual then transferred funds from the victim’s investment account to his cheque account before attempting to withdraw the cash.
When this was unsuccessful, a hold was placed on the cheque account.
Another member of the syndicate then transferred the balance of the money in the account to another account opened with fraudulent documentation.
An amount of R400,000 was successfully withdrawn before the account was frozen by the bank.
Mgolodela said the German national was not in SA at the time of the fraud.
“The syndicate members could not have been able to obtain the information or access the account without the assistance of the two bank officials who were later arrested.
“On his return from Germany in March 2018, the client made the shocking discovery that R400,000 was missing from his investment account and immediately lodged a complaint.”
The matter was referred to the Gqeberha-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit of the Hawks.
Mgolodela said further investigations revealed that the complainant could have been defrauded of more than R4.8m had further transactions not been intercepted by the bank.
Khumalo and his co-accused, Lwando Dingiswayo, 30, were arrested on September 29 2021.
They appeared in the Gqeberha’s magistrate’s court, where they were later released on warning.
After a series of court appearances, Dingiswayo pleaded guilty in March 2023.
Khumalo pleaded not guilty and his matter proceeded to trial.
He was ultimately convicted on Monday.
Khumalo and Dingiswayo will be sentenced on April 29.
The identity of the other syndicate members has not been established.
HeraldLIVE
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