Cape Town chartered accountant Willie Mouton was sentenced to eight years in jail on Tuesday by the East London Magistrate’s Court after he was found guilty of stealing R1.3-million from the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC).
The court also ordered Mouton to pay back the money stolen from the Quigney-based corporation within nine months. The sentence is suspended for five years and if the money is not paid back, the prison sentence will commence.
Mouton was arrested in Cape Town in 2014 following months of investigation by the Hawks. Mouton’s company had failed to source 255000 2-litre bottles of blended cooking oil for a company that secured a R4.5-million loan from the ECDC to supply Weirs Cash and Carry with the oil.
Mouton’s company Wilbur Financial Trust CC was the broker and the party to source the blended cooking oil for Sayola Global from a supplier.
Sayola is a client of the ECDC and the applicant for the loan. Weirs Cash and Carry was the eventual purchaser of the blended oil from Sayola.
In 2012 Sayola, a company owned by Siyabulela Manona and Phumezo Mciteka, applied for a loan from ECDC and R4.595-million was granted to them.
The ECDC made the first payment to Wilbur Financial Trust, which acted as a broker for Sayola. As Mouton’s company was to supply the cooking oil, Sayola was required to pay a deposit of R1319625.
The ECDC duly paid the money but Wilbur Financial Trust failed to deliver the cooking oil. The corporation started demanding its money back in January 2013.
Ikhona Mvaphantsi, senior manager, said: “The ECDC welcomes the judgment which has put the matter to rest. This sentence should serve as a serious deterrent to any future potential fraudulent activity. In part, the conviction serves as an affirmation of ECDC’s internal controls which were able to pick this up. However, ECDC is continuously improving its internal controls and systems for the prevention and early detection of fraud activity.” — malibongwed@dispatch.co.za
Convicted Mouton to repay R1.3m to ECDC
The court also ordered Mouton to pay back the money stolen from the Quigney-based corporation within nine months. The sentence is suspended for five years and if the money is not paid back, the prison sentence will commence.
Mouton was arrested in Cape Town in 2014 following months of investigation by the Hawks. Mouton’s company had failed to source 255000 2-litre bottles of blended cooking oil for a company that secured a R4.5-million loan from the ECDC to supply Weirs Cash and Carry with the oil.
Mouton’s company Wilbur Financial Trust CC was the broker and the party to source the blended cooking oil for Sayola Global from a supplier.
Sayola is a client of the ECDC and the applicant for the loan. Weirs Cash and Carry was the eventual purchaser of the blended oil from Sayola.
In 2012 Sayola, a company owned by Siyabulela Manona and Phumezo Mciteka, applied for a loan from ECDC and R4.595-million was granted to them.
The ECDC made the first payment to Wilbur Financial Trust, which acted as a broker for Sayola. As Mouton’s company was to supply the cooking oil, Sayola was required to pay a deposit of R1319625.
The ECDC duly paid the money but Wilbur Financial Trust failed to deliver the cooking oil. The corporation started demanding its money back in January 2013.
Ikhona Mvaphantsi, senior manager, said: “The ECDC welcomes the judgment which has put the matter to rest. This sentence should serve as a serious deterrent to any future potential fraudulent activity. In part, the conviction serves as an affirmation of ECDC’s internal controls which were able to pick this up. However, ECDC is continuously improving its internal controls and systems for the prevention and early detection of fraud activity.” — malibongwed@dispatch.co.za
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