Pretoria – Law enforcement authorities carried out operations at various sites in Roodepoort, resulting in the seizure of vehicles, gold, silver, jewelry, luxury watches, designer apparel, laptops, and mobile phones belonging to 15 individuals charged with misappropriating over R150 million from Nedbank.
This coordinated initiative, which involved the Asset Forfeiture Unit, Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, and officials from the appointed curator bonis, culminated in the confiscation of these items on Wednesday, 28 January 2025.
As stated by Phindi Mjonondwane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority Gauteng, these 15 suspects are alleged to have defrauded Nedbank of R157 million between July 2018 and January 2023.
“The operation was carried out to enforce a provisional restraint order issued by the High Court in Johannesburg on 29 November 2024, following the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998. This order is intended to secure the assets owned by the 15 individuals, whether held individually or through various entities, with an estimated total value of approximately R33 million,” Mjonondwane stated.
The assets secured under this order comprise residential properties, sectional title units, smallholdings, 77 vehicles (including utility vehicles, motorcycles, and luxury sedans), cash from bank accounts, and business interests.
The confiscated items at the multiple sites included gold and silver jewelry, luxury watches, designer clothing, laptops, mobile phones, around R80,000 in cash, a cash counting machine, licensed handguns, assault rifles, as well as 16 magazines filled with ammunition and 2172 rounds of various calibers.
“The 15 accused are currently facing prosecution in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court for fraud and theft,”
Accusations indicate that one of the defendants, Nicolette de Villiers, who was employed as an investigator in Nedbank’s Group Financial Crime Forensics and Security division, misused her role to facilitate the fraud and theft.
De Villiers allegedly illegally transferred funds from Nedbank’s “suspense accounts” to the accounts of various illicit recipients with whom she had personal relationships.
The funds in the suspense accounts were maintained by Nedbank for the benefit of fraud victims.
“De Villiers purportedly created fictitious payment instructions to deceive the bank, falsely claiming that the intended recipients of the stolen funds were themselves victims of fraud entitled to compensation from the suspense accounts through 224 individual transactions during the pertinent timeframe,” Mjonondwane detailed.
It is asserted that De Villiers transferred over R91 million to Lucas Keitumetse Mathimbi through his personal bank account and the accounts of two companies, Ivy League Group (Pty) Ltd, and IVL Guards (Pty) Ltd, of which he is the sole director.
“Among the assets secured through the court order, Mathimbi is associated with 11 properties, including houses and sectional title units, in addition to 27 vehicles,” Mjonondwane mentioned.
“One of the secured properties is registered in the name of a minor child.”
Mathimbi is also a former employee of Nedbank.
It is believed that De Villiers received around R6 million of the misappropriated funds in this manner.
Following the discovery of the fraud, De Villiers was dismissed from her position at Nedbank.
An interim restraint order has been enacted pending the ongoing criminal proceedings.
All 15 individuals have been granted bail and are set to appear in the Palm Ridge Regional Court on 26 March 2025 for consultations with their attorneys.
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