A Cape Town man appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges of money laundering and theft.
George Schutte, 35, was arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks) on the same day.
The charges stem from funds missing from the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa, based in Bellville.
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi, said the church was mandated to administer the priest’s pension funds.
“Stephanie van der Merwe (who is now deceased) was employed by the church as the Pension Funds Administrator. It was discovered that between October 2018 and May 2020, she unlawfully transferred funds in excess of R5 million from the bank account of the church to various bank accounts. These funds constituted the proceeds of the unlawful acts of fraud and theft,” Vukubi said.
However, a thorough investigation by the Hawks established that van der Merwe deposited the money into two bank accounts belonging to Schutte.
“The latter allowed the deceased to use his bank accounts in order for the funds to be transferred into his bank accounts. It was further revealed that between April 2019 and May 2020, various transactions occurred in Schutte's bank accounts in the amount of R1,955,100,” Vukubi said.
Making a brief appearance in court on Wednesday, Schutte was granted R5,000 bail.