Cape Town – The Johannesburg Specialised Crimes Court sitting in Palm Ridge heard on Wednesday that Hildegard Steenkamp an accountant responsible for embezzling over half a billion rand from the medical equipment supplier Medtronic, sent over R67 million within a span of five years at a single casino.
Steenkamp made the revelation during cross-examination by the prosecutor, advocate Tilas Chabalala, News24 reported.
She pleaded guilty to 336 charges related to the theft from her former employer.
She spent around R30 million on international trips and acknowledged visiting Dubai 11 times between 2010 and 2017, the report said.
ALSO READ | Hildegard Steenkamp says ‘abusive husband’ forced her to steal R537m
Steenkamp claimed that some of the spending might have come from shared gambling cards with her late husband.
On Monday, she testified that her husband’s abusive behaviour forced her into stealing.
She said that he physically assaulted her and threatened her children when she tried to stop stealing.
Steenkamp was an accountant for Medtronic Africa from 2004 to 2017 and later resigned, The Citizen reported.
“Steenkamp was given authority to add or remove creditors from the company’s database as part of her job description.
“She later added her husband into the company’s database as a creditor between 2004 and 2016, where Steenkamp transferred approximately R4.63 million from the company’s account into her late husband’s estate account, while other company funds were allegedly transferred into her son’s personal account,” the report quoted the Hawks as saying.
The sentencing proceedings are ongoing.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
