Access Forex, the money transfer company, reportedly lost US$322,510 and R650,000 in a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by Grace Makozho, a 31-year-old employee at its Johannesburg branch.
In April 2023, Makozho allegedly used a colleague’s login credentials to create fictitious remittance accounts, transferring funds to 91 recipients in Zimbabwe, including accomplices Dickson and Shepherd Gweshe, who remain at large.
She purportedly instructed these recipients to withdraw the money and deliver it to her, sometimes traveling from South Africa to Zimbabwe to collect the cash personally.
The fraud was uncovered during an internal audit.
Upon her arrest in Chiredzi, Makozho initially provided false identification to authorities but later admitted her true identity. She faces charges of fraud, money laundering, and supplying false information to a public authority.
That last one might be a chargeable offence but I think it’s totally understandable. Many of us would say anything to get out of trouble.
As regards the actual fraud, unfortunately, there will always be loopholes and vulnerabilities in any human-made system that fraudsters can take advantage of.
Over the years we have covered stories of multiple EcoCash and other financial services players’ employees and agents running scams of their own.
The hope is that with every system loophole uncovered, these companies become harder to defraud.
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