Three suspects are facing 39 counts of corruption, 48 counts of fraud, and 78 counts of money laundering.
It is alleged that the three suspects, Schalk Pienaar (37), Leolene Pienaar (34), and Patricia Booysen (34), defrauded GWK of R705 005.50, stated Lt. Col Tebogo Thebe, media spokesperson of the Hawks.
Thebe said members of the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team arrested the three on Tuesday, 17 December, at various locations.
They made a brief court appearance in the Prieska Magistrate Court on Wednesday, 18 December.
It is alleged that the main accused, Schalk Pienaar, and his two co-accused, defrauded GWK in the period April 2020 to October 2020.
Pienaar was employed as a supervisor at a fuel station, and he fraudulently registered his wife as a supplier at the GWK fuel station.
The registration was done without declaration of the relationship between the two, as required by the GWK policy.
Pienaar apparently also colluded with his colleague, Booysen, the administration clerk, to submit falsified invoices to his wife’s favour.
Subsequent to payments into the wife’s account, some funds were apparently transferred to Booysen’s bank account.
Pienaar tendered his resignation before the matter could be handed over for investigation, while Booysen‘s employment was terminated.
All three accused were granted bail; the Pienaars R1 000 each and Booysen R300.
The matter was remanded for Wednesday, 12 February.
- In another unrelated matter, a former Standard Bank employee appeared in court for alleged fraud.
The 39-year-old Hendrika Welhelmina Vorster made a brief appearance before the Colesberg Magistrate Court on Thursday, 12 December. She was arrested by members of the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team.
It is alleged that from November 2011 to October 2012, Vorster, who was employed as a customer consultant at the Standard Bank in Colesberg, opened various cheque accounts, revolving credit accounts, credit and loan accounts for staff members, friends, and clients to whom credit facilities were granted.
Furthermore, these credit facilities were granted without meeting the requirements for credit facility.
Moreover, some of these credit facilities were granted without required documents such as proof of income, residential address copies, identity documentation and signed agreements.
The accused further falsified the Standard Bank new delivery system by capturing and inflated applicants’ income which resulted in applicants qualifying for credit facilities which they would not have qualified for had the falsification did not happen.
Her unlawful conduct resulted in Standard Bank suffering potential prejudice of R1 846 663.73 as the clients were unable to make repayment to the credit facilities they were granted.
Vorster was granted R1 000 bail and the matter is postponed to 19 February for legal representative, said WO Nomthandazo Mnisi, media spokesperson.
