South African accountant Cassandra Labuschagne gets 15-year jail term over $1 million theft

South African accountant Cassandra Candice Labuschagne has been sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment after stealing more than R17.3 million ($1 million) over five years from Ker & Downey Africa, a high-end, luxury safari tour operator based in Cape Town, through a fraudulent banking scheme.

Cassandra Labuschagne, 42, was convicted on 134 counts of theft and money laundering by the Cape Town Regional Court after entering into a plea and sentence agreement. She was also declared unfit to possess a firearm under South Africa’s Firearms Control Act.

The case involved funds diverted from a Cape Town-based travel company, Ker & Downey Africa, founded by Jeff Squire and Lee Kelsall, where Cassandra Labuschagne worked as an accountant between January 2019 and June 2024. Western Cape police said the company suffered losses of R17,352,337 ($1.04 million) from the scheme.

Accountant exploited access to company banking system

Western Cape police spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala said Cassandra Labuschagne used her position within the travel company to gain access to its banking system and redirect company funds to a business she had established.

According to Gwala, Cassandra Labuschagne created a fictitious platform on the company’s banking site, enabling her to access its financial system. She subsequently registered her own company and made multiple payments to it using the employer’s funds.

“She created a fictitious platform on the company’s banking site, which allowed her access to the company’s banking system,” Gwala said. “She proceeded to register her own company and made several payments to her company to the value of R17,352,337 ($1.04 million).”

The fraudulent transactions continued for more than five years before the company identified irregularities in its financial records.

Forensic audit uncovered R17.3 million ($1.04 million) fraud

The scheme was uncovered by forensic investigators conducting the travel company’s financial audits, during which discrepancies in its accounts were identified.

The discovery prompted the company to open a criminal case, which was assigned to Detective Sergeant Arno Julian Cupido of the Western Cape commercial crime investigation unit.

Gwala said Cupido conducted an investigation into the suspected financial misconduct and obtained subpoenas for bank statements linked to the 19 bank accounts Cassandra Labuschagne had allegedly used to carry out the transactions.

The investigation traced the movement of funds through the accounts and established the scale of the financial losses suffered by the employer.

Labuschagne receives 15-year prison sentence

Cassandra Labuschagne was arrested in September 2025 and subsequently entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the Cape Town Regional Court.

Following her conviction on 134 counts of theft and money laundering, the court sentenced her to 15 years’ direct imprisonment.

The firearm prohibition imposed alongside the prison sentence means she has also been declared legally unfit to possess a firearm under the country’s firearms legislation.

The case highlights how the alleged abuse of internal financial access and weaknesses in banking controls can expose businesses to substantial losses, particularly when fraudulent transactions remain undetected over extended periods.