Lida Potgieter (62), was remanded in custody on Friday 12 July 2019, by the Emalahleni Regional Court for failure to comply with her bail conditions pending an appeal.
It is alleged that between January 2004 and July 2009, Potgieter was a manager of the Witbank Municipality internal Sports Club. Employees of the Municipality contributed member fees, deducted from their salaries. When contributions reached a substantial amount, Potgieter started an in-house lending scheme which motivated the employees to make further investments in the hope of increasing their earnings.
The scheme collapsed after Potgieter transferred just over R4-million into her personal account. The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit was entrusted with the probe after a case was registered during 2015.
Potgieter was arrested and charged on 737 counts of fraud. She was sentenced to six years direct imprisonment on 18 February 2015, and was subsequently released on bail of R10 000.00 after she appealed against the judgement.
It is alleged that Potgieter violated her bail conditions resulting in a warrant for her arrest being issued culminating in her arrest last Friday. The case has been postponed to 26 July 2019 for a formal bail application.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
