Cape Town – Hildegard Steenkamp, an accountant who admitted to embezzling over R537 million from Medtronic (Pty) Ltd, a medical equipment supply company, has reportedly testified in court that her late husband was abusive and coerced her into stealing from her employer.
Steenkamp pleaded guilty to 336 charges related to the theft and is now testifying in mitigation of her sentence.
According to News24, she claimed her late husband needed money for various purposes, including paying vendors and recovering from lost contracts.
She said that he physically assaulted her and threatened her children when she tried to stop stealing.
She also revealed that she was an avid gambler and often visited casinos to escape her husband.
“I gambled a lot because I didn’t want to be home. I usually went to Carnival City and Emperors Palace. I was very happy with gambling and kept the money I won on casino cards,” the report quoted her as saying.
Steenkamp admitted that most of the stolen money went into her husband’s account, and she used the rest for gambling, paying off debts, and purchasing properties.
Despite her claims of abuse, she also acknowledged having loved her late husband, who was a police officer and had connections that deterred her from seeking help.
The sentencing proceedings are ongoing.
Hildegard Antoinette Steenkamp (50) found guilty on 336 counts of fraud and theft. Steenkamp, who was an accountant at Medtronic Africa, was tasked with creating creditors by the company. It is alleged that Steenkamp added his late husband as a creditor and transferred R4.63m – pic.twitter.com/LLR3IMSFIz
— CrimeInSA (@sa_crime) May 10, 2023
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.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
