Trio stole R1.9m from slot, says casino
TSOGO Sun’s Suncoast Casino is suing a former technician and two punters for allegedly masterminding a plan to steal nearly R2-million from its slot machines in Durban.
The casino’s insurers, Glenrand MIB, have instituted legal action against Brandon Wesley Pandaram, Raeesa Ismail and Loganathan Govender to recover R1.9-million that was allegedly misappropriated by the three.
Tsogo Sun’s director of marketing, Noeleen Bruton, this week confirmed the lawsuit, saying the casino viewed the matter very seriously.
“We have extensive policies and procedures as well as various sophisticated surveillance and security measures in place not only to prevent this type of criminal activity taking place, but also to ensure that we are in a position to gather sufficient evidence to bring these criminals to justice,� said Bruton.
In papers before the High Court, Tsogo Sun claims that the trio colluded to “wrongfully and intentionally misappropriate or deprive� it of more than R1.9-million.
The gaming giant alleges that Pandaram, Ismail and Govender misrepresented a technical fault with the touch-bet roulette wheel and that Pandaram was called in “to repair the fault�.
A casino schedule reveals that between June 2003 and September 2004 more than 100 payments were allegedly made to Ismail and Govender.
The payouts ranged from R1000 to about R59000.
“There was nothing wrong with the touch-bet roulette system and Pandaram did not have to effect any repairs,� says the casino.
The three have denied the allegations, with Pandaram claiming that while he knew Ismail and Govender as gamblers, he never acted with them to defraud the casino.
The case is expected to be set down for trial within the next 15 months
2005-11-28
