A former finance manager, Vinola Naidoo, has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering charges involving over R4.8m.

Berea Mail reports Naidoo, 41, admitted to the crimes under a Section 105A plea agreement (of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1997), which was approved by both the court and the complainant, Mohammed Hafzal Razak, the owner of Channel Construction (Pty) Ltd, based in Bayhead, Durban. Naidoo was employed by Channel Construction from 2016, initially as an assistant finance manager and later promoted to finance manager.

KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Naidoo orchestrated her scheme between August 2016 and August 2019, in which she created fraudulent payment packs and interim audit reports, sending them to Razak for approval under the pretense that they were payments to legitimate service providers.

“Once approved, Naidoo would alter the payment beneficiary details on the company’s system to reflect her own banking details, and the payments went into her personal bank account. This caused the company to suffer the loss of over R4.8m,” said Ramkisson-Kara.

Her web of deceit was uncovered after Naidoo resigned in 2020. “Razak requested an investigation into the company’s financial records, and the offences were discovered,” confirmed Ramkisson-Kara. She added, “In finalising this matter, Razak provided an affidavit saying that he approved of the Section 105A plea and sentence agreement.”

This matter was successfully prosecuted by Adv Joel Kisten. “The NPA will continue to prosecute matters of this nature vigorously. By working together with the DPCI and other stakeholders, we will ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice,” said Ramkisson-Kara.

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