Six charged with bank fraud

A Stanger resident is among six men charged for their alleged involvement in an elaborate banking scam.
Roshanlall Omadat appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday, February 17 along with Willy Wandibha, Victor Solomon, Olwwaseun Akinniyi, Nhlanhla Zulu and Sunil Chimanlall.
The men were arrested at the Blue Waters Hotel in Durban following a sting operation on Thursday, February 13.
They are accused of defrauding several businessmen through a scam that involved using business speedpoint machines to make refunds from their bank accounts to bank cards.
They allegedly targeted businesses in financial trouble, offering bribes in exchange for access to their speedpoint machines.
They would then fool the business owners into thinking that by using the machines they were stealing large amounts of money from the bank to help them.
It was later discovered that the money was actually being transferred from the business bank account onto bank cards.
During the sting operation the men were allegedly caught transferring more than R900 000 to bank cards supplied by undercover police officers.
During their brief court appearance the men were told they were currently only facing prosecution for the R900 000 transaction but this could change once the docket has been viewed by the director of public prosecution.
They have been charged with fraud, theft, contravention of the electronic communications and transactions act and the regulation of interception of communications and provision of communication related information act.
The men will remain in Westville Prison until their bail application next week.