Rustenburg – An accountant accused of stealing over R5 million from his employer appeared briefly in the Rustenburg Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
Evan Mutale, 44, is facing 21 charges of fraud and three alternative charges of money laundering.
The case against him was postponed to April 19 for a formal bail application and for his case to be transferred to the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
The NPA said Mutale was arrested in Rustenburg on Wednesday.
"He was subsequently charged with stealing over R5m from Jaira Constructions and Projects, where he was employed as an accountant, responsible for managing accounts, payroll, and loading payments," NPA spokesperson in North West division, Henry Mamothame, said.
"It is alleged that between September 2019 and November 2020, Mutale fraudulently transferred money into an account belonging to an individual who has no links to the company but is known to him.
"These transactions were allegedly done under the pretence of paying a service provider for services rendered to the company. In the process, he deceived his supervisor to make final authorisations for money to be transferred into his accomplice’s bank account."
He said investigations revealed that some of this money was later transferred to his bank account, as such constituted for the State to charge him with money laundering.
"Police aren’t ruling out the possibility of making more arrests. Mutale will remain in police custody until the next court appearance and the State intends to oppose his bail application," he said.
IOL