A former financial adviser who admitted diverting millions of rand belonging to Old Mutual clients into a company he controlled has been convicted of fraud and money laundering.

The Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, 30 September 2026, found Farouk Khan (45) guilty on 16 counts of fraud and one count of money laundering.

Khan, a former employee and financial advisor at Alchemy Financial Services, an Old Mutual agency franchise, was arrested in September 2024 following a warrant of arrest. He initially faced charges including fraud, theft, money laundering, forgery and uttering.

According to the prosecution, Khan admitted to his employer that he had misappropriated funds belonging to 18 Old Mutual clients.

The court heard that Khan supplied clients with the bank account details of a company under his control, leading them to deposit their money into the account believing they were making legitimate payments.

Instead, the funds were used for Khan’s personal benefit or transferred to other bank accounts.

Investigators also established that Khan created fictitious invoices and other documents bearing Old Mutual branding, which were used to mislead investors and facilitate the fraudulent transactions.

The scheme ultimately caused Old Mutual an actual financial loss of R23,661,002.63.

Khan now faces the prospect of a substantial sentence after being convicted on the 17 counts.

The court postponed the matter to 23 November 2026, when Khan is expected to return for sentencing.