31-year-old Johan Venter was fortunate enough to skirt a five-year prison term by paying a R10 000 fine for his theft of R100 000 from his former employer, Fidelity Security.
Did Johan Venter get away with cash-in-transit theft?
In a statement, Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani confirmed the former cash-in-transit security guard appeared before the George Regional Court, on Wednesday, to learn of his fate for a brazen crime he’d committed in November 2021.
According to evidence presented in court, Venter was tasked with transporting 110 bags of cash from the Fidelity base to an SBV depot in George, Western Cape.
However, on that sunny day of 20 November 2021, Venter was overcome with greed and, instead of completing his delivery, the 31-year-old only submitted 106 bags, and kept the rest for himself.
It’s unclear how he planned to mask the missing four bags that contained R100 000 in cash. However, according to Hani, an internal investigation quickly turned up the 31-year-old as the last person tasked with handling the large transfer.
Sure enough, with enough pressure applied on the former security guard, he “confessed that he took the money.”
“He took his manager to his personal vehicle where the money bag was found. It was discovered that he had already broke the seal of the bag and took R2 230,” Hani revealed in a statement.
The case was transferred to the Western Cape’s Hawks division and charges of theft were brought against the 31-year-old, who, pleaded guilty.
In a turn out that some may argue was a slap on the wrist, considering the case of Bathobile Mlangeni, who is remanded in custody for a similar crime, Venter was allowed an opportunity to skirt a five-year bid by paying a R10 000 fine.
“Venter opted for a R10 000-00 fine and was further declared unfit to possess a firearm,” Hani concluded.