R3.4m Capitec Theft Suspect 'Arrested for His Involvement' in R103m Absa Fraud

• The Hawks arrested a third person in connection with the multi-million rand Absa fraud case in Cape Town
• The suspect appeared in court on similar bank fraud charges relating to a case stretching back to 2018
• He allegedly stole R3.4 million while working as a software engineer at the Capitec Bank head office in Belville

CAPE TOWN - A third person was arrested by the Hawks for allegedly having a hand in defrauding Absa of R103 million amid his appearance in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday.

According to News24, the 29-year-old man was in court to face similar charges after allegedly stealing R3.4 million from Capitec Bank. It's thought he was also in cahoots with Xolela Masebani, reportedly a relative of his, to steal the large sum of money from Absa, where the former worked as a specialist engineer.

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"Gershom Matomane allegedly received R74 million of the money stolen by Masebani, who made transfers to six accounts, including one belonging to a company linked to Matomane," said Gauteng Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu.

"Matomane faces charges of fraud and theft. In 2018, he allegedly stole [millions] from Capitec while working as a software engineer at the retail bank's head office in Cape Town. Around the same time, he worked at Santam with Masebani, who is not involved in the matter," Mulamu added.

Use of same method of operation

TimesLIVE reported that Masebani and his wife Athembile Mpani made a scheduled appearance in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for a bail application on Monday.

Masebani allegedly stole the money from Absa between September and December last year, transferring the funds into six different accounts, including R9.5 million to his account and R17 million to an account belonging to Mpani.

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"According to the information at our disposal, Matomane used the same modus operandi as Masebani to steal the funds from Capitec Bank, splitting the transfers between several bank accounts [to avoid suspicion]," said Mulamu.

Social media, as usual, was a hub of activity as locals reacted to the latest development in the fraud saga. Locals lamented how the suspects managed to steal the money in the first place.

Netizens bicker over fraud saga

Others expressed that they are likely to get a slap on the wrist from the court for their crimes. Briefly News takes a look at some of the loudest reactions below.

@Lesley Pole wrote:

"Arrested in SA means NOTHING ANYMORE. Convict and put them behind bars to never see sunlight for the damage they have caused."

@Prince Jay said:

"Stealing is business here in SA...you just need to know how not to get caught..these are amateurs."

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@Olebogeng Olebs Lucas added:

"While government officials who stole from that 500 million r still roaming in government offices, mxm let me tool."

Couple splurged R290k on Louis Vuitton, Gucci

Elsewhere, Briefly News recently reported that the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Monday heard that the couple at the heart of the Absa fraud case spent R292 000 in one day at two luxury clothing stores in Sandton.

The husband and wife duo faces two charges of theft and fraud, among others. At their formal bail application, the court heard that Masebeni fraudulently transferred more than R100 million into several bank accounts.

The case came into the spotlight after a complaint that the funds were taken from an account that Absa's forensic division could not locate an instruction for a debit to be executed on.

Source: Briefly News