A man who opened a bank account for a friend to enable a R4.2-million property-sale email fraud received just R150 for facilitating the scam. Prevention of Organised Crime Act
The scam entailed using spyware and viruses to allegedly clone email addresses in order to dupe unsuspecting property traders into making deposits into fraudulently opened bank accounts. Warther was meant to receive R4.2-million from the sale, but the money was deposited into Khumalo’s Nedbank account. , Yaron Waks received an email purportedly from Warther, who supposedly directed the law firm to deposit R4.2-million into an Investec Bank account. The state claimed that the money was deposited into Khumalo’s Nedbank account instead.
“He [the friend] informed me that he has a problem with his bank account and he is expecting some payments from a certain drug lord from Johannesburg. He suggested that I should open one [an account]. I agreed and he gave me a lift to the bank as well as R50 for a new account. Abdul will return to court later this month for the 2019 R7.8-million matter and the R4.2-million case. The state had separated the cases because Khumalo indicated he would plead guilty in the R4.2-million matter. said Khumalo would not appear as a state witness in the case against Abdul.