Two lovers serving long terms in prison for defrauding Standard Bank of R1.5 million, have had their vehicle forfeited to the state as part of the plan to recover the stolen money. The car is the only proceed of the fraud the state has managed to recover from the convicted pair, Thandeka Mlangeni and Hopewell Mpanduli Daguma.
A large portion of the cash the duo defrauded from the bank in 2020 is still missing. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), or the Hawks, and the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) application for a forfeiture order of the car was granted by the Free State High Court.
Lt Col. Zweli Mohobeleli, provincial spokesperson of the Hawks, said the court at sitting in Bloemfontein on 31 August granted the order to repossess the vehicle.
“A 2017 model Ford Figo vehicle was confirmed as having been purchased with money stolen by Mlangeni from the bank. The vehicle is forfeited to the state as it was purchased with proceeds of a crime committed by the pair,” said Mohobeleli. He said success to repossess the vehicle was a result of the NPA and the Hawks’ investigators working together in the fraud matter.
Mlangeni worked as a teller for the bank at the time of colluding with Daguma to defraud the bank. Further probing by the bank’s forensic team and the Hawks discovered the pair defrauded a client of the bank of R1.5 million. It was discovered that Mlangeni opened a fraudulent bank card using a client’s details to transfer R1 million into Daguma’s fraudulent account. They withdrew R500 000 and R51 000 from the victim’s account between January and February 2020.
The Harrismith Magistrates’ Court imposed sentences spanning over 26 years against the couple. Mlangeni was sentenced to ten years’ direct imprisonment in May this year, while her boyfriend, Daguma, was sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment in April in 2021.
He was issued a lengthy sentence as he breached the bail conditions. While on bail he sold the vehicle he had purchased with a portion of the stolen money for R125 000.
