Middelburg company gets R21.55m back after banking scam
A business from Middelburg has recovered R21.55 million after fake ABSA officials tricked employee into approving fraudulent transactions, allowing millions to be stolen from its bank account in May
A Middelburg company has recovered R21.55 million after scammers posed as officials representing ABSA, leading to bank approvals that gave suspects access to the company’s bank account.
Jormid Electrical was targeted on May 21, 2026, when its financial manager received WhatsApp messages claiming that suspicious payments had been detected on the company’s account.
Fake bank officials
After the financial manager said she did not recognise the payments, a man phoned her, claiming to work for ABSA’s fraud department.
He told her he was helping to stop the suspicious transactions and convinced her to approve several links sent to her cellphone. While she was still on the call, a colleague alerted her that millions of rand had already been transferred from the company’s account.
The stolen amount was R21.55 million.
Jormid immediately contacted ABSA and opened a criminal case with SAPS in Middelburg.
The matter was later handed to the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) in Mpumalanga.
Millions traced and frozen
Investigators, working with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), traced the stolen money to nine bank accounts.
The funds were frozen before they could be moved further.
The AFU then approached the Middelburg High Court to keep the money frozen while the legal process continued.
The first preservation order was granted on June 12, 2026, followed by final forfeiture orders on September 15 and 21.
The recovered R21.55 million was subsequently returned to Jormid Electrical, preventing the company from suffering financial loss.
The NPA said the case sets an example on successful cooperation between banks, investigators and police when stolen money needs to be traced and recovered quickly.
Criminals can use WhatsApp messages, phone calls and fake bank information to make themselves sound legitimate. SAPS officials have issued warnings regarding banking scams stating that if someone claiming to be from your bank asks you to click a link or approve a transaction, do not do it.
End the call and contact your bank directly using the official number on your bank card or bank statement.
