Suspect appeared in court for fraud of over R1 Million

Vinod Kumar Polepalli, aged 31, appeared before Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on 30 October, on charges of fraud. It is alleged that in January 2021, the bank received three vehicle finance applications from the accused at a car dealership in Wonderboom.

The bank began its investigation when Polepalli failed to pay the monthly instalments. The bank discovered that the accused provided fraudulent documents for the applications before he went back to his country of origin, India.

The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigations based in Pretoria for further probe. The bank was prejudiced over R1 million. A warrant for his arrest was issued and circulated on all Ports of Entry. He was arrested and appeared in court where the matter was postponed to 6 November 2023 for bail application.