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In a landmark ruling, the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in the Western Cape has sentenced Yasseen Harris Rud'rees, aged 30, to an effective 6 years of direct imprisonment after being found guilty of fraud, contraventions under the Cybercrimes Act, and money laundering.
Yasseen Harris Rud'rees, until his offence, was a Risk Coach at Digital Outsource Services. Between February 2020 and January 2022, he was involved in the illicit transfer of around R4.2 million from his employer's customer accounts into fraudulent accounts controlled by him, his then-girlfriend, and her brother. Rud'rees, exploiting his privileged access to company systems due to his position, used online casino accounts as conduits for these unauthorized transactions.
Following multiple court appearances and a rigorous investigation by the Serious Corruption Investigation team, Rud'rees faced several counts of criminal activity. On count 1-24, he received a decade-long sentence for his fraud activities, with four years suspended for five years, considering future good behavior. For the 25th to 49th count, and also on the 50th to 73rd counts, he was sentenced to eight years each under different sections of the Cybercrimes Act, 2020, with a commuted three years.
For the final count, involving money laundering, he was sentenced to a 10-year term, with a four-year suspension. In agreement with the court's directives, counts 25-74 are set to run concurrently with counts 1-24. This aggregates to 36 years' worth of sentencing, significantly reduced to 6 years of actual jail time after the concurrent counts and suspended sentences take effect.
Additionally, the court stripped Rud'rees of the right to possess a firearm, marking him legally unfit due to the gravitas of his offences.
The case comes as a stark reminder of the pervasive threat posed by white-collar criminals exploiting digital mediums and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in safeguarding assets. Rud'rees' sentencing sends a clear message about South African judiciary's stringent stance on digital fraud and their commitment to prosecuting such crimes.