A KwaZulu-Natal man has been ordered by the Durban commercial crime court to pay back R200,000 to a man he defrauded in an elaborate scam.

Mkgabo Kubuzie, 34, was convicted for theft and money laundering for which he received a wholly suspended sentence and was ordered to refund the man he stole from.

Hawks KwaZulu-Natal spokesman Capt Simphiwe Mhlongo said that in May 2016 the complainant had received an email to pay R200,000 into a certain account for property he was purchasing in Cape Town.

"It was later established that the emails were intercepted and the account details were altered which caused him to pay money into the wrong account.

"A case of theft and money laundering was reported at Alexandra Road police station and the case docket was allocated to Pietermaritzburg Serious Commercial Crime Unit for investigation.

"Kubuzie was arrested in February this year after a thorough investigation was conducted.

"He made several court appearances before he was convicted and sentenced.

"He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted within the period of suspension and he was ordered to refund the victim all the stolen money," said Mhlongo.