NEDBANK on Tuesday confirmed reports that theives had tapped into its cardholder accounts and spent an estimated R1-million in a shopping spree that involved about 2000 transactions. Nedcor chief operations executive Mike Leeming confirmed that the bank will repay clients for losses as a result of the fraud. He claimed that “certain precautions” in the bank’s computer systems had alerted security officials to the scam which involved duplicating clients’ cards and then issuing new cards with falsified information. Nedcor’s investigators claim the criminals used sophisticated equipment to copy details from the magnetic strips on the back of the card and then duplicated that information onto new blank cards. The cards were sold to users for between R200 and R500 each.
JOHNNIC REPAYS DEBT
JOHNNIES Industrial Corporation [Johnnic] management announced on Tuesday that it has begun a programme to repay the billions of rands of debt it incurred in the last quarter of 1998. The debt of almost R3,78-billion was used to fund the purchase of an 18,5% stake in MTN Holdings and the buy-out of the Millennium Entertainment Group Africa and Times Media minorities. “We’ve settled more than R300-million of the original bridging funding we put in place,” said Johnnic financial director Jacob Modise.
NAMIBIAN EXCHANGE ROCKETS
THE Namibian Stock Exchange traded more than N$1-billion worth of shares last year despite the economic turmoil which rocked markets worldwide. Trade results released by NSX Chairman Bob Meiring on Tuesday indicate that the value of equity traded on the local stock market until December last year was N$1035,3-million — up by nearly 15% from the 1997 figure of N$901,3-million. It was also revealed that plans are underway to amend the outdated Stock Exchange Control Act to allow proper recognition and regulation of all stockbroking firms.
SHOPRITE DEFENDS SEIZURE
RETAIL group Shoprite Checkers denied on Wednesday that the chain uses its stores outside South Africa to dump defective or expired goods. Deputy managing director Carel Goosen said Maputo city health inspectors, who confiscated hundreds of goods at a Maputo branch last week, appeared to have mistaken stamped dates of manufacture on items as dates of expiry. Goosen conceded, however, that at least some of the 497 goods confiscated by inspectors had been on shelves past their ‘sell by’ dates due to poor stock management at the store.