MAHWELERENG, South Africa — Three former employees of Global Strike Security appeared in court on May 19, 2025, for allegedly defrauding Anglo American Platinum of R6.3 million by submitting fraudulent invoices over nearly three years.
Wanda van Zyl, 57, the company’s former director, along with Monidue Nel, 52, and Ruan van Zyl, 23, both former payroll administrators, face 26 counts of fraud. Their arrests were carried out by the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) after a forensic probe revealed 33 fake claims between December 2018 and September 2021.
According to Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa, the security services claimed in the invoices were never rendered, prompting Anglo American Platinum to initiate an internal investigation. The matter was later escalated to the Hawks after the company’s losses exceeded R6.3 million.
The suspects are said to have cooperated with authorities and handed themselves over before appearing in Mahwelereng Magistrate’s Court. A fourth alleged accomplice had reportedly passed away prior to the arrests.
The case has been postponed to May 20, 2025, for a formal bail application.
In a related development, the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Polokwane sentenced two people to 15 years each for defrauding a Limpopo woman of R650,000 in a separate dating scam involving false promises of a R4 million payout.
These back-to-back cases highlight the growing pressure on South African authorities to crack down on financial and corporate fraud.
