FREE STATE – Thabo Mosupa (45), a former employee of Thabo Mofutsanyana Local Municipality, and his company, The Seven One Stop (Pty) Ltd, appeared before the Bethlehem Commercial Crimes Court for sentencing after they were convicted on multiple counts of fraud and money laundering.
The matter originates from 2017, when Thabo Mofutsanyana Local Municipality made a payment of more than R1.4 million to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA). The payment was initially made into a Nedbank account but was subsequently returned to the municipality after the account was found to be invalid.
The municipality thereafter transferred the funds to an FNB account, which was believed to belong to COIDA. It was later discovered that the account did not belong to COIDA, as the Department of Employment and Labour confirmed that the compensation payment had not been received. The department further provided the municipality with the correct banking details, which were for an ABSA account. Following the discovery, the municipality launched an internal investigation to establish what had transpired.
A criminal case was subsequently opened and referred to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in Bethlehem for further investigation, which revealed that the FNB account into which the more than R1.4 million was transferred was linked to The Seven One Stop (Pty) Ltd, a company owned by Mosupa. He was arrested and appeared before the Bethlehem Commercial Crimes Court on several occasions until his conviction.
The court sentenced Mosupa to an effective five years imprisonment for fraud and money laundering.
The Seven One Stop (Pty) Ltd was sentenced to a R700 000 fine, wholly suspended for five years, on condition that the company is not convicted of fraud or theft committed during the period of suspension.
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