Two weeks ago, he was an ambassador of the soft life from the money that he’s alleged to have stolen. A sum of R16 million from his employer, audit firm KPMG.
He appears for the second time on the 9th of April 2024, at the Palm Ridge commercial crime court sporting an all-black tracksuit on 9 April.
On 2 April, 32-year-old Fidelis Moema was arrested for theft, money laundering and fraud after handing himself over to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crimes Investigation team in Johannesburg.
The Hawks confirmed this in a statement.
“The accused was employed as a bursary specialist at KPMG. It is alleged that between 2021 and 2022, Moema misdirecting funds meant for bursary recipients. Instead of paying university fees on behalf of students, the accused would pay the money into the bank accounts belonging to friends and individuals who own companies.”
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“The money would then be paid back into his personal bank account. KPMG has suffered a loss of R16.5 million due to his fraudulent actions,” it further reads.
Presenting the matter before magistrate Kheswa, state prosecutor Advocate Valencia Dube proposed that the case be postponed as she is stationed at Johannesburg South court for the week, also noting that the time allows for the state to also submit a bail application affidavit as the defense has already done so.
Shortly after, the proposal was granted.
“Court is adjourned until 18 April 2024, that will be for a formal bail application hearing. The accused is to remain in custody until then,” said Magistrate Kheswa.
Coming to court for the first time in Fidelis’ defence, Advocate Thomas Hlungwane tells Drum that him and his instructing attorney were more than ready for the application.
“In his first appearance, he was unrepresented, so the matter was postponed to today for him to appoint a legal representative. Now that he has appointed a legal representative, we are ready to proceed with the bail application. We were even ready today to proceed.”
Responding to whether or not Fedelis’ partner, Sthe Bhengu could possibly be implicated in the matter with her social media posts, Advocate Hlungwane says that’s not where the focus is right now.
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“What we’re focusing on at the moment are the bail requirements, other implications we’ll know when we receive the docket.
He adds that as it stands, Fidelis qualifies for a bail application as he has met all the requirements of bail including having a reliable address of residence to which he would be released to, should his bail be granted.
Fidelis is in custody at the Sun City, also known as the Johannesburg Correctional Centre.
