MASERU — Two Standard Bank employees briefly appeared in the High Court on Wednesday charged with 18 counts of fraud and theft by false pretense.
Mats’eliso Rasethunts’a, 49, and Molebatsi Mothae, 28, are accused of defrauding nearly M2.5 million from the bank and its customers.
They are alleged to have committed the crimes between May 20, 2005 and April 12, 2007.
Rasethunts’a was a manager at the bank’s Mohales’ Hoek branch while Mothae was a teller.
They are alleged to have transferred M101 878 into their bank accounts on May 20, 2005.
In July 2006 they again transferred M150 000 into their accounts, the prosecution alleged.
The prosecution also alleged that on March 12, 2007 the duo transferred M670 000 into their accounts.
Two day later they transferred M200 000
A day later, according to the charge sheet, they transferred M330 000 into their accounts.
On April 12, 2007 they transferred a further M1 006 000.
Their lawyer Salemane Phafane said the crown counsel had not done its job properly.
“The matter is prematurely brought before the court,” he said.
“The first batch of the statements was supplied to the accused yesterday when the case was supposed to commence. The second batch on prosecution documentation was given to me this morning.”
Phafane said the case was therefore not ready for trial.
“We are not asking for postponement. The indictment was only given to the accused yesterday. (The) Indictment comprises of 18 counts and the defence did not prepare on time,” he said.
Phafane said that they had agreed with the crown counsel that the matter be moved to August 4.
Justice Semapo Peete said the crown should furnish the summary of the case to the court and defence counsel within a month.
