A former employee of the law firm Matsepes Inc. in Bloemfontein was arrested regarding alleged fraud and money laundering.
He has been granted bail of R10 000.
The suspect, Herman Daniel Badenhorst (34), was granted bail during his appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on 24 May.
He was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Bloemfontein on the same day as part of an ongoing investigation.
Capt. Christopher Singo, spokesperson for the Hawks, said preliminary investigation revealed that Badenhorst allegedly authorised payments from insolvent estate accounts and filed the necessary requisitions for payments to be made into his personal bank accounts. He said charges include fraud and money laundering.
The alleged crime was committed while he was employed as an administrative clerk by the law group.
He was reportedly dismissed by the law firm upon discovery of the alleged fraudulent activities.
Singo said investigation revealed fraudulent activities took place from February 2018 to January 2021.
“As a result of these fraudulent activities at Matsepes Inc. was prejudiced and suffered a total loss of more than R4 million,” said Singo.
He said the Hawks was assigned with further investigation after the law entity registered the case.
The court hearing against Badenhorst was postponed to 18 July for further investigation.
