Tuesday, 8 April 2025

EMPLOYEE STEALS HALF A MILLIONS DOLLARS

Cash remittance company Access Forex’s South Africa branch lost over half a million dollars to a thieving employee, a Harare court heard yesterday

The suspect Grace Makozho appeared before regional magistrate Donald Ndirowei, who remanded her in custody to today pending bail considerations.

Makozho told the court that she has already been charged with the same facts and granted bail in South Africa and the court ordered the State to verify the status of the status of the case.

The court heard that Makozho was employed by Access Forex as a clerk from July 2022 up to March last year.

Her duties among others were to receive calls from clients on behalf of the company and assist them.

The court heard that in April 2023, Makozho created ghost remittance accounts within the company’s system.

She was working in the same office with Liniet Maphosa, who was responsible for receiving funds from clients for transfer and do the transfers.

It is alleged that after creating ghost accounts bearing non-existence remitters, Makozho used Liniet Maphosa’s credentials to log into the transfer system.

She then used the ghost accounts to transfer various amounts from Access Forex South Africa to 91 various recipients in Zimbabwe. Amongst the recipients were her accomplices Dickson Gweshe and Sheperd Gweshe, who are still at large.

She would then instruct the recipients to withdraw the money from Access Forex tellers in Zimbabwe and to handover the cash to her.

Makozho would allegedly drive from South Africa to Zimbabwe to collect the cash.

During the transfer no money would have been debited into Access Forex.

Makozho allegedly transferred some of the money into her South African FNB accounts.

In order to conceal the elicit origin of the money, she went on to use the money to acquire various properties.

She further transferred some of the money she would have received from her recipients to South African FNB accounts so as to conceal the destination of the ill-gotten funds in contravening Money Laundering and proceeds of crime act.

Access Forex discovered the offence after carrying an audit that is when they discovered that the accounts which were used to send the money from South Africa were fake and do not exist within the system.

Makozho was arrested at her rural home in Chiredzi. Upon arrest she allegedly lied that she was Milicent Kwangwari being a sister to Makozho, who was being sought, and that Grace Makazho was in South Africa.

She was taken to ZRP Masvingo Rural where she was further interviewed, and it was discovered that she had lied to the police after national identity card bearing her was found in her bag.

Total value stolen is US$322 510 and R650 000 and nothing was recovered. H Metro

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