| 2024/03/26 |
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Media Statement EASTERN CAPE – The Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court convicted Christo De Jager (60) on 25 March 2024 on 595 counts of fraud. De Jager was a fleet administrator at Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) that is based in Gqeberha. During the period between November 2014 and March 2021, the service provider by the name of Autotrust was contracted to do auto body repairs work for VWSA. The company Autotrust reportedly submitted fraudulent invoices to VWSA for services not rendered and De Jager assisted the company as an administrator to get the falsified invoices for payments. Internal auditing discovered some discrepancies in the invoices submitted. The matter was then reported to the Gqeberha based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation of the Hawks for thorough investigation. The investigation by the Hawks exposed that indeed Autotrust and De Jager during the period submitted a total of five hundred and seventy two fraudulent invoices that resulted VWSA being prejudiced an amount to the value of over R12 million. Further investigation revealed that Autotrust as well as De Jager colluded in defrauding VWSA and as a result De Jager received payments for personal gain on regular basis from Autotrust as kickbacks. On 10 March 2023, De Jager was ultimately arrested by the Gqeberha based investigating team of SCCI and appeared at Gqeberha Commercial Crime court on the same day then later released on warning. De Jager made several court appearances until he was convicted by the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes court on 25 March 2024. The matter was then remanded to 22 May 2024 for sentencing. The Acting Provincial Head of the Hawks, Brigadier Vennessa Shantelle Hastings much admired the incredible job done by the Gqeberha SCCI for securing the conviction of the suspect. She expressed her gratitude to the determined investigators in ensuring that the perpetrator gets what he deserves. Ends
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