R2.2m recovered by Hawks after bank account fraud

The Financial and Asset Forfeiture Investigation (FAFI) unit of the Hawks has recovered R2.2-million which was defrauded from Amatola Water in East London in the Eastern Cape.

According to Hawks spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Robert Netshiunda‚ Amatole Water had contracted Malambo Construction to render services.

But before the money could be paid out‚ Amatola Water received what looked like genuine correspondence from the service provider informing them of a change in banking details.

Amatola Water then transferred an amount of R2.2-million into the newly provided bank account but were perplexed when representatives from Malambo Construction enquired about when their money would be paid‚ Netshiunda explained.

“It was then discovered that someone fraudulently changed Malambo Construction’s banking details without their consent‚ paving a way for Hawks’ investigations.

“FAFI‚ in collaboration with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) hit the ground running and traced the account. The money was recovered and now the manhunt has been instituted to locate the people behind the fraud‚” Netshiunda said.