Staff Reporter
JOHANN Trédoux, a businessman charged with fraud after his wife, Charlene Trédoux, allegedly stole N$1 million from her former employer, Absolute Safaris, and transferred the money into his bank account, appeared in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court today. He was denied bail.
Charlene Trédoux, who appeared before the same magistrate, Surita Savage, in early November, was granted bail of N$15,000. She is accused of transferring large sums between February 29, 2024, and October 9, 2024, from Absolute Tours and Safaris, located in the Northern Industrial Area, at unspecified times.
According to a police statement filed by her former employer, Beckert Jochen, evidence from the company’s FNB business cheque account revealed multiple unauthorized electronic fund transfers allegedly made by Charlene. As the head of the Accounts Department, she had access to the business account and was responsible for processing payments to suppliers, creditors, and staff.
Jochen said, “Company suppliers informed us that they never received the funds from these electronic fund transfers processed by Charlene Trédoux. The funds were instead transferred to the account of Ngatha Brokers cc, a Bank Windhoek account linked to Johann Trédoux, Charlene’s husband.”
The police report alleges that the fraudulent transactions to the Bank Windhoek account began on February 29, 2024, totaling N$1,046,069.51, transferred without the consent of the business owner.
Charlene Trédoux was retrenched with immediate effect on October 18, 2024. She had been employed at the company since June 1, 2022.
Jochen explained, “Charlene was retrenched due to restructuring in my company. During this process, my new accountant uncovered the fraudulent activities that occurred between February and October 2024.”
