A former employee of the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality in the Free State has been sentenced to an effective five years’ imprisonment for fraud and money laundering after more than R1.4 million intended for the Compensation Fund was transferred into a bank account linked to his company, the Hawks said.
Thabo Mosupa, 45, and his company, The Seven One Stop (Pty) Ltd, appeared before the Bethlehem Commercial Crimes Court for sentencing following their conviction on multiple counts of fraud and money laundering.
The case dates back to 2017, when the municipality made a payment of more than R1.4 million in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA).
R1.4m payment transferred into wrong account
Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Fikiswa Matoti said the municipality initially deposited the money into a Nedbank account. However, the payment was returned after the account was found to be invalid.
“The municipality thereafter transferred the funds to an FNB account, which was believed to belong to COIDA,” Matoti said.
The Employment and Labour Department later confirmed that it had not received the compensation payment and provided the municipality with the correct banking details, which were for an Absa account.
The Hawks said the discovery prompted the municipality to launch an internal investigation to establish what had happened to the money.
Hawks investigation links account to Mosupa’s company
A criminal case was subsequently opened and referred to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit in Bethlehem.
The investigation revealed that the FNB account into which the more than R1.4 million had been transferred was linked to The Seven One Stop (Pty) Ltd, a company owned by Mosupa.
“He was arrested and appeared before the Bethlehem Commercial Crimes Court on several occasions until his conviction,” Matoti said.
Company’s R700,000 fine suspended
The court last week sentenced Mosupa to an effective five years in prison for fraud and money laundering.
His company was handed a R700,000 fine, which was wholly suspended for five years.
The suspension is subject to the condition that the company is not convicted of fraud or theft committed during the five-year period.
