Maria Luisa Venter Photo: Provided
A woman arrested on suspicion of defrauding the Mantshopa Municipality in the Free State will learn the prospects for her bail application at a hearing in Ladybrand Magistrates' Court today, Thursday, February 29. The suspect, Maria Luisa Ventel, 44, had her bail application postponed while she was in custody.
The woman has been charged with fraud, forgery, utterances and money laundering after her arrest on February 14th. Mr. Venter briefly appeared in court on Friday, February 16th. The Bethlehem Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Team arrested Venter in December 2020 on suspicion of defrauding an ANC-controlled municipality of R225,289,69. She is being held as part of an elite crime agency investigation into a reported case of fraud.
Hawks provincial spokesperson Captain Christopher Shingo said Pretoria Police's Detective Bureau handed Mr Venter over to the Free State Hawks team after his arrest. He said a warrant for Venter's arrest had already been issued. Shingo said the woman defrauded the municipality on December 24, 2020 by posing as a service provider.
Mr Shingo said the money in question was the outstanding amount paid by the municipality to legitimate service providers. He said the investigation showed Mr Venter knew about the money and sent an email to the city's budget officer requesting payment of the outstanding R225,289,69.
Shingo said the fraud was discovered a few days later when the authorized service provider contacted the municipality and requested that the outstanding payments be duly paid.
