The accused Stewart Garner (64) appeared in the Kroonstad Magistrate's Court in the Free State on Friday (6/10) after allegedly defrauding his victim of money and using it to purchase bitcoin.

Hawks spokesperson Christopher Singo said Garner faces charges of fraud after the victim received an Absa bank notification, indicating an unauthorised deduction of R860,000.

While the victim was still processing this information, he received another bank notification for an unauthorised deduction of R50,000. Subsequently, the victim reported the incident to the bank in Kroonstad and later filed a criminal case with the police.

The money was allegedly used to purchase bitcoin. Photo: Unsplash/André Francois McKenzie

“The case was transferred to the Hawks‘ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit in Welkom. During the investigation, it was discovered that the money had been transferred from the victim's account to a Standard Bank account belonging to Garner,” said Singo.

It was also revealed that the funds were used to purchase bitcoin. A warrant of arrest was issued in 2020, leading to Garner's arrest on Wednesday (4/10) by the OR Tambo International Airport police, who then handed him over to the Hawks.

Garner's case has been postponed to Thursday (13/10), and he was granted bail of R10,000.

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