CONVICTED FRAUDSTER GIVEN SUSPENDED SENTENCE

A WESTERN Cape man has received a suspended sentence after he was convicted of foreign currency fraud by the Mossel Bay regional court.

Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said Eltan Olivier, aged 34, was charged with fraud involving R500 000 in a case, dating back to 2015 in Great Brak River when the foreign exchange department of a local bank received payment totalling R586 860.30 which was intended for a customer in Lesotho named OMI Investment.

The account details appeared incorrect and the bank conducted a search which revealed that the investment account was registered under the name of Olivier in South Africa.

He was sentenced to three years, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he repays R293,430.15 to the bank.