(Photo: Rupixen via Unsplash)
A man accused of defrauding a mill out of millions of rand was released on bail of R10 000 in the Delareyville Magistrate’s Court in North West on Wednesday.
Reginald Scholtz (57) faces a total of 61 charges of theft, amounting to around R9.1 million. The alleged theft apparently took place when Scholtz was working as group finance manager at Botselo Mills.
Under his bail conditions, Scholtz must report to the local police station every Friday. He also had to hand over his passport to the investigating officer in the case.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the case was adjourned to May 3 to give the state a chance to hand over all the necessary documents to the defense and so that the case can be transferred to the specialized commercial crime court.
Henry Mamothame, spokesperson for the NPA, says the Falcons’ investigation into the allegations revealed that Scholtz had three bank accounts with three different banks from January 2017 to August 2022.
It is alleged that Scholtz, who by nature of his position had access to the company’s banking system, fraudulently transferred money to these accounts under the guise that it had been paid to service providers.
“He allegedly created approval forms that were needed to pay money to service providers. This finally led to money being deposited into his personal bank accounts,” Mamothame said.
Adv. Bongani Chauke, head of the specialized commercial crime unit in the North West and the prosecutor in the case, indicated that the investigative work has been completed and the state is ready to continue with the trial.
