Luxury Vehicles, Jewelry, Designer Clothing, and Cellphones Seized from 15 Suspects in Nedbank R157 Fraud Case

Pretoria – Law enforcement officials conducted operations at multiple locations in Roodepoort, where they confiscated vehicles, gold, silver, jewelry, luxury watches, designer clothing, laptops, and mobile phones belonging to 15 suspects accused of misappropriating over R150 million from Nedbank.

This coordinated effort, involving the Asset Forfeiture Unit, Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, and officials from the appointed curator bonis, led to the seizure of the items on Wednesday, 28 January 2025.

According to Phindi Mjonondwane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority Gauteng, these 15 individuals allegedly defrauded Nedbank of R157 million between July 2018 and January 2023.

“The operation was executed to enforce a provisional restraint order issued by the High Court in Johannesburg on 29 November 2024, in accordance with the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998. This order aims to secure the assets belonging to the 15 individuals, whether held personally or through various entities, with an estimated total value of around R33 million,” Mjonondwane stated.

The assets secured under the order include residential properties, sectional title units, smallholdings, 77 vehicles (including utility vehicles, motorcycles, and luxury sedans), cash from bank accounts, and business interests.

The items confiscated at the various sites included gold and silver jewelry, luxury watches and designer clothing, laptops and mobile phones, approximately R80,000 in cash, a cash counting machine, licensed handguns and assault rifles, along with 16 magazines filled with ammunition and 2172 rounds of different calibers.

“The 15 accused individuals are being prosecuted in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court for fraud and theft,”

Allegations suggest that one of the accused, Nicolette de Villiers, employed as an investigator in Nedbank’s Group Financial Crime Forensics and Security division, exploited her position to facilitate the fraud and theft.

De Villiers is accused of unlawfully transferring funds from Nedbank’s “suspense accounts” to the bank accounts of various illicit recipients with whom she had personal connections.

The funds in the suspense accounts were held by Nedbank on behalf of fraud victims.

“De Villiers allegedly generated fictitious payment instructions to mislead the bank, claiming that the intended recipients of the stolen funds were themselves victims of fraud entitled to compensation from the suspense accounts through 224 individual transactions over the relevant timeframe,” Mjonondwane elaborated.

It is alleged that De Villiers transferred over R91 million to Lucas Keitumetse Mathimbi through both his personal bank account and the accounts of two companies, Ivy League Group (Pty) Ltd, and IVL Guards (Pty) Ltd, where he serves as the sole director.

“Among the assets secured via the court order, Mathimbi is linked to 11 properties, comprising houses and sectional title units, along with 27 vehicles,” Mjonondwane added.

“One of the secured properties is registered in the name of a minor child.”

Mathimbi is also a former employee of Nedbank.

De Villiers is believed to have received approximately R6 million of the misappropriated funds in this manner.

Following the uncovering of the fraud, De Villiers was terminated from her position at Nedbank.

An interim restraint order has been issued while the criminal proceedings are ongoing.

All 15 individuals have been released on bail and are scheduled to appear in the Palm Ridge Regional Court on 26 March 2025 for their attorneys to consult with them.

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