The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) in East London said on Thursday they were searching for suspects linked to an attempt to defraud Amatole Water of R2.2 million.
Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said its Financial and Assert Forfeiture Investigation (FAFI)-branch had recovered R2.2 million which was defrauded from the Amatole Water on Friday, after discovering that the money was not transferred to the account of the company which was contracted to render the service, Malombo Construction.
“The Amatole Water had contracted Malombo Construction to render services but before the money could be paid out, Amatole received what looked like a genuine correspondence from the service provider informing them of a change in banking details,” said Netshiunda.
“Amatole then transferred an amount of R2.2 million to the newly provided bank account but were perplexed when representatives from Malombo enquired about when their money would be paid.”
Netshiunda said it was later discovered that someone fraudulently changed the company’s banking details without their consent.
“The FAFI, in collaboration with the Financial Intelligence Centre hit the ground and traced the account. The money was recovered and now the manhunt has been instituted to locate the people behind the fraud,” Netshiunda added.
– African News Agency (ANA)
