A Durban man has been sentenced to 18 years behind bars for defrauding First National Bank of millions of rand.
The Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Nadeem Arshad, 39, on Friday after he was convicted of 26 counts of fraud and one count of money laundering.
National Prosecuting Authority KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Kara said the offences occurred in March 2016.
"Arshad and his two co-conspirators were account holders at FNB," she said. "On the day of the offence, Arshad cashed several cheques issued by his co-conspirators.
"They were able to issue the cheques even though their accounts were either empty or closed, thus defrauding the bank.
"As soon as the monies cleared, Arshad moved the money into various other accounts. On the one day alone, they defrauded FNB of R11,470,000.
"Arshad was arrested after First National Bank found out what had happened. His two conspirators are yet to be caught, as one has fled the country while the other absconded during trial."
Kara said the state presented video footage of Arshad doing money transfers at various ATMs as well as the evidence of FNB employees.
"The Asset Forfeiture Unit, represented by state advocate Beverly Mothilall, was granted a section 18 order for R4,326,926, and the money was successfully recovered."
Kara said Arshad is appealing both his conviction and sentence.
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Fraudster who tricked FNB out of millions gets 18-year jail sentence
A Durban man has been sentenced to 18 years behind bars for defrauding First National Bank of millions of rand.
The Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Nadeem Arshad, 39, on Friday after he was convicted of 26 counts of fraud and one count of money laundering.
National Prosecuting Authority KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Kara said the offences occurred in March 2016.
"Arshad and his two co-conspirators were account holders at FNB," she said. "On the day of the offence, Arshad cashed several cheques issued by his co-conspirators.
"They were able to issue the cheques even though their accounts were either empty or closed, thus defrauding the bank.
"As soon as the monies cleared, Arshad moved the money into various other accounts. On the one day alone, they defrauded FNB of R11,470,000.
"Arshad was arrested after First National Bank found out what had happened. His two conspirators are yet to be caught, as one has fled the country while the other absconded during trial."
Kara said the state presented video footage of Arshad doing money transfers at various ATMs as well as the evidence of FNB employees.
"The Asset Forfeiture Unit, represented by state advocate Beverly Mothilall, was granted a section 18 order for R4,326,926, and the money was successfully recovered."
Kara said Arshad is appealing both his conviction and sentence.
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