EPTC FRAUD: ‘I WAS NOT EXPECTING MONEY’

MBABANE –“I was not expecting any money to be deposited into my account by Eswatini Post and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC).”

One of the recipients of money siphoned from EPTC through suspected cyber fraud has come out to clear his name. The individual, who had his account frozen by the bank following a court order received by the police to do so, said he anticipated no money to be deposited into his account.

As a matter of fact, the businessman who is known to this publication but cannot be identified for now, said he was not even aware that there was money deposited into his bank account until he went to withdraw from an automated teller machine (ATM). Upon arrival at the ATM, he was able to access all details in his account save for getting hard cash. He said when withdrawing, nothing came out except a bank statement informing him that he could not access his cash.

“I kept inserting the bank card and nothing came out. I even changed ATMs but the same thing happened.”
The benefactor said he was later advised on what had transpired.

Questioned

However, when questioned on how come he was not aware of his bank balance given that any transaction that happens in one’s account was reported through a short message, the businessman requested not to engage on the subject further as the matter was being dealt with by the police. “I cannot share further information as the police are investigating the matter,” he said.

Meanwhile, as investigations into the fraud committed at EPTC intensify, two of the five companies discovered to be recipients of the money are not listed with the ‘registrar of companies.

This publication last Friday reported that there were five companies and nine individuals who had their bank accounts frozen following the trickery at EPTC.
The names of the individuals and the companies are known to this publication but cannot be revealed as investigations are still ongoing and no arrests have been made.

EPTC and the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) confirmed that E16 million was discovered missing and from that amount, E15 million had already been recovered.  According to impeccable sources, it is anticipated that the amount siphoned from EPTC may increase as investigations are still ongoing.
From the three companies that are implicated in the cyber fraud – by virtue of being recipients of the money that was moved from EPTC, two of them have one director while the other has two directors sharing the same surname.

The companies were registered in various years as one of them was approved to operate in the country in 2007, another in 2016 and the third one was entered into the government system in 2018.

On the other hand, when the Managing Director of EPTC, Petros Dlamini, was sought for comment on developments regarding the fraud,  his phone rang unanswered.  Dlamini, at a joint press conference with the Royal Eswatini Police Service, said the exact amount of money stolen as a result of cybercrime was still subject to confirmation.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: