Picture: The Botselo Mills logo/Google
By OBAKENG MAJE
The money laundering case against Jan Jacobus Van Niekerk was transferred to the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court by the Delareyville Magistrate’s Court. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in the North West, Henry Mamothame said, Van Niekerk is facing 337 charges of fraud and 20 of money laundering.
“He, in the company of his attorney, handed himself over to the SAPS’ Provincial Commercial Crimes Unit on 30 May 2023 and was subsequently charged with fraud and money laundering amounting to over R10 million. The police investigations reveal that Van Niekerk was employed by Botselo Mills (Pty) LTD as an accountant and authorised to transact on the company’s accounts.
“It is alleged that, between January 2017 and July 2022, Van Niekerk submitted forms fraudulently requiring approval for payment to be made into the accounts of service providers for a service that was not rendered. It was further discovered that in the forms, he provided the names of the service providers that are in the company database, but fraudulently replaced their banking account numbers into his six personal banking accounts that he holds with two major banks,” Mamothame said.
He further said, the police also discovered that Van Niekerk allegedly had working relationships with some of the companies he submitted for payment. Mamothame added that the investigations into the matter are completed and the state is ready to proceed with a pre-trial conference in the next court sitting.
“The case was postponed to 19 July 2023 and Van Niekerk was granted R12 000 bail. The court ordered him to report to his nearest police station once a week between 6am and 6pm,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the North West, Dr Rachel Makhari together with the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, lauded the police for the arrest and commended the prosecution team led by the Head of the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit in the North West, Adv Bongani Chauke and the Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection, Major General Dintletse Molefe for a collaboration that led to the arrest and court appearances of the accused.
The Guardian 