Pretoria - The Delareyville Magistrate’s Court in the North West granted an accountant R12 000 bail after he allegedly defrauded his employer of R10 million.
The court has also adjourned the case against 38-year-old Jan Jacobus van Niekerk to July 19, for the matter to be transferred to the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
The court has ordered van Niekerk to report to his nearest police station once a week between 6am and 6pm, according to North West spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority Henry Mamothame.
The NPA said van Niekerk was facing 337 charges of fraud and 20 charges of money laundering.
“He, in the company of his attorney, handed himself over to the SAPS’ provincial commercial crimes unit, on May 30, 2023, and he was subsequently charged with fraud and money laundering amounting to over R10m,” said Mamothame.
He said police investigations revealed that Van Niekerk was employed by Botselo Mills (Pty) Ltd as an accountant, who was authorised to transact on the company’s accounts.
“It is alleged that between January 2017 and July 2022, van Niekerk submitted forms fraudulently requiring approval for payment to be made into the accounts of service providers, for a service that was not rendered.
“It was further discovered that in the forms, he provided the names of the service providers that are in the company database, but fraudulently replaced their banking account numbers into his six personal banking accounts that he holds with two major banks.
“It was further discovered that he allegedly had working relationships with some of the companies he submitted for payment,” said Mamothame.
The NPA said the investigations into the matter are completed, and the State is ready to proceed with pre-trial conferencing at the next court sitting.
Meanwhile, the Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Dr Rachel Makhari, together with the provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, have lauded the police and the prosecution team working on the case.
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