The payslip discrepancy that exposed Isuzu’s R10.5m fraud
GQEBERHA — Isuzu Motors South Africa employees noticed in August 2024 that the pay reaching their bank accounts was lower than the amount on their payslips. Their complaints prompted an internal review that helped uncover more than R10.5 million in losses. On Monday, 2 November, the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Gqeberha convicted former Isuzu payroll administrator Natasja Slabbert, 42, of fraud.
At Isuzu’s Struandale premises, the company’s financial manager also identified irregularities while reconciling the payroll, according to Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana. The company referred the matter to the Hawks. The transactions set out in the charge sheet stretched back to 1 January 2018, more than six years before employees raised concerns, and continued until 22 August 2024.
How company funds reached Slabbert’s accounts
Investigators traced the losses to the system Isuzu used to make payments through an outside service provider. According to the Hawks, Slabbert inflated or duplicated payments and redirected the money into bank accounts she controlled. In August 2024 alone, investigators identified approximately R626,500 that went from Isuzu’s payroll account into her personal account. The Hawks put the company’s total loss over the full period at more than R10.5 million.
The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit worked with specialist prosecutors from the National Prosecuting Authority. Officers arrested Slabbert on 16 February 2026, and the court granted her R5,000 bail at her first appearance that day. Following Monday’s conviction, the court postponed the case to 7 December for pre-sentencing proceedings.
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