R24m stolen from theatre

THE STATE Theatre in Pretoria had to rush to court to obtain an urgent order freezing the bank accounts of two of its now former employees as well as 11 other bank accounts that are unknown to the management.

This was after it came to light that alleged fraud and theft to the tune of more than R24 million had been committed against the theatre.

It was stated in papers before the North Gauteng High Court that the management only became aware of the transactions in December after being alerted by Absa that suspicious transactions had been detected.

While the management said they were shocked about this, subsequent investigations showed that the alleged theft and fraud had been ongoing from at least 2014.

The theatre’s chief executive Dr Sibongiseni Mkhize said in an affidavit before the court that one former employee implicated worked as a creditors clerk (first respondent) while the other worked in the supply management chain (second respondent).

The police and the Hawks are investigating the claims of fraud and theft.

Both employees resigned shortly after the allegations came to light.

It was stated in court papers that the first respondent confessed to making the fraudulent payments and that it had been going on since 2014.

In their final preliminary report, chartered accountants employed to investigate the matter said the total amount the theatre was defrauded of was R24 681 265 01.

Judge Pierre Rabie meanwhile ordered that these bank accounts be frozen, pending further legal action to be instituted by the theatre.