was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for stealing more than R17.3 million from a Cape Town travel company.
A 42-year-old Cape Town accountant has been sentenced to 15 years' direct imprisonment after stealing more than R17.3 million from her employer through a fraudulent banking scheme that operated for more than five years.
Cassandra Candice Labuschagne was sentenced by the Cape Town Regional Court after being convicted on 134 counts of theft and money laundering.
According to Western Cape police spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala, Labuschagne defrauded a Cape Town-based travel company where she was employed as an accountant between January 2019 and June 2024.
The company suffered losses amounting to R17,352,337.
Accountant used fictitious banking platform to steal millions
Gwala said Labuschagne exploited her position within the company to gain access to its banking system and divert funds into a business she had registered.
"Labuschagne created a fictitious platform on the company’s banking site, that 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."
The fraudulent transactions continued for years before forensic investigators uncovered discrepancies during the company's financial audits.
"The discrepancy was picked up by forensic investigators while doing the company’s financial audits," Gwala said.
The discovery prompted a criminal investigation into the missing funds.
Police trace 19 bank accounts linked to fraud
The case was assigned to Detective Sergeant Arno Julian Cupido of the Western Cape Commercial Crime Investigation Unit.
Cupido launched an investigation into the financial transactions and obtained banking records to trace the movement of the stolen money.
Gwala said the investigation revealed that Labuschagne had used 19 bank accounts in committing the offences.
"He conducted a thorough investigation and obtained subpoenas for bank statements of the 19 bank accounts the accused used in the commission of her crime," Gwala said.
Labuschagne was arrested on September 17, 2025, following the investigation.
She remained behind bars after the State successfully opposed her release on bail.
Court hands down 15-year prison sentence
Labuschagne subsequently entered into a plea and sentence agreement, which resulted in the court imposing a 15-year direct prison sentence.
Gwala confirmed that Labuschagne would serve a custodial sentence for the financial crimes.
"Labuschagne entered into a plea and sentence agreement and was sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment," Gwala said.
The court also declared her unfit to possess a firearm under the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000.