A practising attorney, entrusted with about R6 million, is set to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court. She faces numerous charges, including fraud, theft, contravention of the Attorneys Act, and money laundering.
The 47-year-old lawyer was allegedly entrusted with the R6 million in cash from an estate. Warrant Officer, Fikiswa Matoti, says the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in Bloemfontein served the attorney with a summons.
“This amount was supposed to be held in a trust account on behalf of the complainant, but it was kept in the suspect’s personal account. This resulted in the complainant losing about R3,4 million,” said Matoti.
LAWYERS IN HOT WATER
According to SAPS, it was also discovered that the lawyer was practising without a fidelity fund certificate as required. A criminal case docket was registered and handed to the Hawks for further investigation, which led to the arrest of the suspect.
Earlier this year, a 35-year-old attorney was also arrested by Hawks. The lawyer allegedly aided a person to escape police custody in Limpopo. Spokesperson, Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa said the first suspect was arrested for theft of a motor vehicle.
“He was handcuffed, and while police officials were busy with the arrangements to take the suspect to the police station, his attorney took him to his vehicle (attorney’s car) and drove away at high speed.”
Provincial head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Major General Gopz Govender, welcomed the arrest of the attorney. He also strongly warned against interfering with official police duties.]
SHOULD THESE LAWYERS BE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE FOLLOWING THEIR ARRESTS?
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