Siblings arrested for allegedly defrauding employer of R100 million
Christina Smith (53) and Barbara van Zyl (54) siblings who were on Wednesday, 6 August arrested by the Hawks’ Germiston based Serious Commercial Crime after handing themselves over to the authorities for fraud and theft.
It is alleged that between January 2017 and November 2020, van Zyl and Smith, a senior credit controller and credit controller at a food manufacturing and distribution company. Manipulated and fraudulently changed banking details of several suppliers and service providers contracted to the company which employs them to a bank account belonging to one of them. Where they would reverse or divert payments amounting to R100 000 000 million over a number of years.
The matter was reported to authorities and a case was opened. The pair made their first appearance before the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday, 6 September and the case was postponed to Thursday, 7 September where the pair was granted bail of R20 000 each and has been remanded to 19 October.
Provincial Head Major General Ebrahim Kadwa commended the investigating officers for a very meticulous investigation.