The criminal case against Laura Grobbler (63), former chairperson of Belega Women’s Investments, which has been in business since early 2000, is set for 6 December in the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court. She stands accused of defrauding the entity of more than R1 million.
The case was postponed to the new date during her appearance on 18 October. The crime allegedly took place between February 2018 and March 2020, according to an investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Bloemfontein. Grobbler faces charges ranging from fraud and money laundering to contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca). The Hawks on 14 September served her with a summons to appear in court.
Capt. Christopher Singo, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said probing had been launched after a complaint was received from one of the shareholders, who discovered discrepancies.
Singo said the shareholder in the women’s investments entity had discovered that bank statements apparently showed transfers of several amounts of money from the investment body to Grobbler’s personal bank account. The transactions were reported to have been done without the consent of any of the shareholders.
