A broker is at the center of investigations after allegedly swindling millions of pula that had been entrusted to a cooperative saving society and members of the scheme are up in arms.
Police say a suspect had been identified but not a single thebe had been recovered since the investigation began.
The Serious Crime Squad is questioning a man believed to have swindled the Savings and Credit Cooperative Association (SACOS) of cash amounting to P3, 4 million in Orapa.
It is alleged that SACOS approached a broker wanting to buy Bank of Botswana certificates and SACOS provided the broker with all the information it wanted and both parties went to the bank to make bank transactions.
After sometime, SACOS realized that they had been swindled and reported the matter to the police.
Detective Superintendent Chifana Toitoi of Serious Crime Squad told Sunday Standard that “it is true that we are investigating a case in which SACOS in Orapa was swindled of about P3, 4 million”.
He explained that the investigations so far revealed that SACOS wanted to purchase Bank of Botswana certificates between 2006 and 2007 as a form of investment and engaged a certain broker to purchase the BoBs certificates.
He said the agent allegedly transferred the money from Standard Chartered to First National Bank.
Toitoi said that, unfortunately, on SACOS’ enquiring of how far the transactions had gone found out that the certificates had not been purchased and SACOS reported the matter to police.
“Our investigations are at an advanced stage and they are centered on the key suspect,” he said.
Efforts to speak to the chairperson of SACOS in Orapa were futile at the time of going to press.
