Latest news with #GqeberhaSpecialisedCommercialCrimesCourt
IOL News
11-07-2025
- IOL News
Criminal activities of bank officials under scrutiny after bank employee arrested in drug and firearms bust
Senior bank manager Raed Cupido Image: Supplied The criminal dealings of bank officials are under the spotlight once again after Standard Bank suspended a marketing manager following his arrest in connection with a major drug and firearms bust. Raed Cupido, 40, was arrested on June 10 at a storage unit in Roeland Street, Cape Town, where police allegedly discovered 15 bricks of cocaine worth R18 million, an AK-47 rifle, five 9mm pistols, and a stash of ammunition in his possession. Cupido's case has reignited attention on a series of incidents involving bank employees implicated in serious crimes. In July 2024, two former Absa bank employees in the Eastern Cape were sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for fraud and money laundering involving more than R1 million. Florika Shenay Owusu, 31, and Abongile Tyusha, 30, were sentenced by the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for offences committed between November 2019 and June 2021 while working at Absa. The two received five years for fraud and theft, and 10 years for money laundering, with four years suspended for five years on condition they do not violate the Prevention of Organised Crime Act during that period. On August 8, 2024, former bank employee Mziwakhe Khumalo was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Gqeberha New Law Court for fraud, money laundering, and contravention of the Electronic Communication and Transactions Act, Act 25 of 2002. Khumalo and his co-accused were arrested by the Hawks' Gqeberha Serious Commercial Investigation team on September 29, 2021. Their crimes occurred between 2017 and 2018, when Khumalo unlawfully accessed a bank account belonging to a German client, changed the contact and signing authority details, and granted access to his co-accused. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ He then opened a fraudulent cheque account and transferred R400,000 from the victim's investment account. He also attempted to transfer an additional R4.8 million, but the transaction was unsuccessful. Most recently, the case of Dr Nomsa Praisy Masuku has returned to court. A former Standard Bank employee who served as Head of the CSI Programme for the "Adopt A School Trust," Masuku was arrested in June 2024 for allegedly embezzling funds intended for student scholarships. The Trust was established to provide scholarships, bursaries, and awards to learners from schools adopted by Standard Bank's programme, supporting those who qualify to further their studies at recognised institutions of higher learning. During her time at the bank, Dr Masuku was entrusted with managing the Corporate Social Investment programme. A Hawks investigation revealed that she allegedly bypassed proper procedures by awarding scholarships to friends and family through document manipulation without the approval of the trust's committee. Some of the funds, amounting to R1.2 million, were allegedly deposited directly into her personal bank account. Her case has been postponed until later in July 2025. Bail for Masuku, her nephew Ciniso Masuku, and co-accused Mark Phillip Roux has been extended. Weekend Argus
IOL News
08-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Eastern Cape woman pulls off a R1. 6 million payday scam with 17 sneaky bank accounts
The Hawks in the Eastern Cape have arrested former debtor's clerk was convicted of defrauding her company of over R1.6 million. Image: Hawks A 44-year-old Eastern Cape woman was convicted on Tuesday of defrauding her employer of more than R1.6 million through a scheme involving 17 different bank accounts in her name. Nortier was convicted by the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on May 7, 2025, on charges of fraud and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, No. 121 of 1998. Provincial Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana said Nortier's conviction followed her arrest by the Gqeberha-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team of the Hawks, in conjunction with the National Prosecuting Authority, in August 2024. Mhlakuvana said between September 2019 and November 2022, Nortier, while employed as the debtor's clerk, orchestrated fraudulent activities that prejudiced the company by exorbitant amounts of cash 'FSPA, based in Newton Park in Gqeberha, trades as a business providing administrative and secretarial support to Sectional Title and Homeowners Association clients,' he said. Mhlakuvana added the company managed 82 housing complexes in the Gqeberha region, with part of its daily functions involving the maintenance of bank accounts and general ledgers for each complex. 'The various bank accounts were managed through a joint trust account,' he said. 'Levies for each of the 82 housing complexes were paid from this account.' According to Mhlakuvana, the fraud was discovered on November 2, 2022, when a complaint was made after a refund of levies to two different owners was paid into the same bank account. 'Probing revealed that Nortier had 17 different bank accounts in her name wherein she diverted monies that were due to the clients, thus prejudicing the company more than R1.6 million, hence she was arrested in August 2024,' he said. Mhlakuvana said Nortier appeared in court on the day of her arrest and was released on R100 bail due to her socio-economic status. 'Nortier made numerous court appearances until her conviction by the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on May 7, 2025, and the matter was remanded to June 19, 2025, for pre-sentencing,' Mhlakuvana added. Meanwhile, the provincial head of the Hawks, Major General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya, praised the joint investigative team. '(They) secured a conviction and anticipated a deserving sentence against the perpetrator as it would deter criminal activities in the province,' he said. Video Player is loading. 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Next Stay Close ✕ In a separate incident, Syed Khurram Aftab, 24, was found guilty and fined R136,750 by the Gqeberha Magistrate's Court on May 5, 2025, for contravening the Counterfeit Goods Act. Aftab had been served with a summons by the Hawks in April 2025. Mhlakuvana said that on March 18, 2025, Spoor & Fisher Attorneys, a firm specialising in trademark matters and anti-counterfeiting, received a complaint about counterfeit Apple iPhone goods being sold at MOD Tech shop in Walmer, Gqeberha. 'Subsequently, the law firm surveilled the cellular shop to ascertain the ferocity of the crime,' he said. 'According to the reports, a representative from attorneys purchased the items and analysed them, which were proved to be counterfeited,' he added. Mhlakuvana said the lawyers conducted tests on the items, which represented Apple Inc., headquartered in the United States. 'The matter was officially reported to the SCCI of the Hawks for further investigation,' he said. 'On March 28, 2025, the investigating team of the Hawks executed a search and seizure warrant which authorised the investigators to search at the aforementioned shop.'
