A former payroll administrator at Isuzu Motors SA, Natasja Slabbert, has been convicted of fraud after unlawfully diverting more than R10.5m from the company through a sophisticated payroll manipulation scheme.
The 42-year-old was found guilty of fraud in the specialised commercial crimes court on Monday following an extensive investigation by the Gqeberha Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit.
For six years, millions of rand quietly flowed out of Isuzu Motors SA’s payroll system until employees questioned why their take-home pay did not match their payslips.
The alleged scheme culminated in the arrest of the payroll administrator accused of siphoning off more than R10.5m between January 1 2018 and August 22 2024.
According to Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, the fraud came to light after the Isuzu Motors financial manager, based at the company’s Struandale premises, identified irregularities during a routine payroll reconciliation exercise.
The discrepancies prompted further internal scrutiny, particularly after several employees raised concerns during 2024 about inconsistencies between their expected net salaries and the amounts reflected on their payslips.
Slabbert was initially responsible for administering the weekly payroll.
From April 30 2024, she was further tasked with administering monthly payrolls.
Court papers stated that she had authorised access to the Payspace payroll system and the NUTUN Transact Ltd third-party payment system.
This access allowed her to prepare, alter and submit payroll and payment information, with payments directly from Isuzu’s bank accounts.
“The accused was the only payroll administrator at Isuzu who had the NUTUN system installed on her work-issued laptop during the relevant period,” court papers stated.
According to the state, Slabbert had two bank accounts registered in her name in which she allegedly deposited the funds.
Mhlakuvana said a subsequent examination of the August 2024 payroll uncovered a suspicious transaction of R626,500, which had allegedly been transferred from the company's payroll bank account into Slabbert’s personal bank account and prompted the investigation.
"A forensic investigation uncovered a calculated scheme in which the accused manipulated payroll-related records and exploited vulnerabilities in the company’s third-party payment processes to facilitate the unauthorised diversion of corporate funds," Mhlakuvana said.
The company reportedly suffered losses exceeding R10.5m.
Between January 7 2018 and August 19 2024, Slabbert allegedly made a total of 127 transactions into her personal bank accounts.
The amounts varied widely, from as little as R47.50 and R77,366.06 allegedly paid into her account, to a single payment of R250,000, allegedly transferred to herself.
Isuzu later dismissed Slabbert.
Mhlakuvana on Tuesday added that further investigations established that Isuzu Motors had suffered a financial loss of R10 525,747.13.
"After numerous court appearances, she was ultimately convicted of fraud on Monday.
"The matter has been postponed to December 7 for pre-sentencing proceedings," Mhlakuvana said.
- Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.