Former KPMG Bursary Specialist Fidelis Moema. Images: Instagram/Fidelis Moema.
Ex-KPMG employee Fidelis Moema granted R50 000 bail
Former KPMG bursary specialist Fidelis Moema who allegedly stole over R16 million meant for students has been granted R50 000 bail.
Former KPMG Bursary Specialist Fidelis Moema. Images: Instagram/Fidelis Moema.
The Commercial Crime Court sitting in Palm Ridge has granted former KPMG bursary specialist Fidelis Moema bail of R50 000.
Moema handed himself over to police earlier this month for allegedly stealing R16.5 million meant for students and has been in custody since.
FORMER KPMG EMPLOYEE FIDELIS MOEMA GRANTED BAIL
Moema appeared alongside two co-accused Trevor Machimana and Lebohang Sigubudu who is a Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officer.
During the bail application, the State revealed that accused number two and number three, Sigubudu, would receive money from KPMG despite not being service providers or bursary recipients.
The two would pay the bulk of these funds to Moema while keeping a portion for themselves.
On Friday, 19 April, Magistrate Sharon Soko said the accused are not flight risk as they all have family ties in South Africa. She granted all the accused R50 000 bail each.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has welcomed the decision.
BURSARIES NOT IMPACTED BY LATEST SCANDAL
Following the arrest, KPMG confirmed that it dismissed Moema on 11 November 2022. The dismissal came after a stringent disciplinary process related to non-compliance with firm policies.
After his dismissal, KPMG said it identified potential fraud Moema committed and immediately initiated an internal forensic investigation.
KPMG CEO in South Africa Ignatius Sehoole said the investigation uncovered fraudulent behaviour related to bursary funds, and they reported the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities in February 2023.
Sehoole said they continue to work closely with the authorities to bring this matter to a close.
“While KPMG had internal controls in place to mitigate such issues, the forensic investigation performed identified improvements. Additional measures of control have been implemented since the discovery of this issue.
“With regards to the bursaries, all monies misappropriated was through an elaborate scheme of fictitious accounts, overriding internal controls and deliberate collusion with external parties,” he explained.
Most importantly, Sehoole confirmed that KPMG’s approved bursars had not been impacted; the firm has honoured all its commitments. The bursary programme will continue to support students in enhancing their profession.
“The forensic investigation identified collusion by Mr. Moema with external parties but did not identify others within KPMG involved in the scheme.
