Five more suspects in Capitec Bank fraud in court

Five more suspects linked to a syndicate that allegedly applied for loans and credit cards using fraudulent documents targeting Capitec Bank appeared before the Emalahleni magistrate’s court on Friday.

Ellias Mbalekwa Jiyane, 57, William Vezi Jiyane, 46, Sifiso Shekwa, 29, Lucky Mkhabela, 35, and Patricia Nqobile Nkosi, 25, were charged with fraud, corruption, forgery, uttering and money laundering.

They were arrested this week by members of the police’s provincial commercial crime and tracking team in Mpumalanga and Gauteng. The accused were remanded and their case was postponed to April 24 for a formal bail application.

Between August 2021 and August 2023, the accused allegedly operated as a syndicate targeting Capitec Bank.

“They allegedly recruited Capitec employees to facilitate loan applications using fraudulent documents. Once the loans were approved, the accused would allegedly share the proceeds among themselves. As a result, Capitec Bank suffered a financial loss exceeding R2m,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said. 

Last week, Christopher Mduduzi Zelani, 36, Eric Khumalo, 53, Mthobisi Mahlobo, 32, Austin Mabuza, 27, and Zithobile Mango, 41, faced the same charges after they were arrested by the same team. They were granted bail of R5,000 each and their case postponed to May 8.

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