The alleged money trail behind Balopi’s billboard empire
Spira Tlhankane | Monday September 21, 2026 06:00
Balopi and his co-accused appeared before the Regional Magistrates’ Court this week and are facing seven different charges ranging from fraud to money laundering.
The charges paint a picture of money allegedly obtained from the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) under the guise of funding billboard and digital-screen projects, before portions of the money were allegedly moved between companies linked to some of the accused.
At the centre of the case is P5.63 million which the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) alleges was fraudulently obtained or attempted to be obtained from CEDA through two separate transactions. The charge sheet, signed by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Kgosietsile Ngakaagae on September 1, 2026, alleges that the transactions later spawned money-laundering charges involving transfers between Native Outdoor (Pty) Ltd, Stess Engineering (Pty) Ltd and Keysource (Pty) Ltd. Balopi, who is cited both in his personal capacity and as a director of Native Outdoor, faces charges alongside companies and individuals linked to the alleged transactions.
The P837, 000 CEDA deal
According to the first count, on February 2, 2023, Native Outdoor, Balopi, Stess Engineering and its director Thomas Sidney Sharpe allegedly acted together to defraud CEDA of P837,302.64. The State alleges that the accused represented to CEDA that the money would be used for a series of billboard-related works, including cladding three boards, transferring a board from Northgate Mall to the Nokia robot, constructing a concrete base and transferring and erecting structures at Sefalana Head Office and Sefalana Block 10. The representation allegedly induced CEDA to pay P669,842.11 into Stess Engineering’s First National Bank account.
But the charge sheet alleges that the accused knew they had no intention of using the money for the project for which it had been applied. “The accused persons fraudulent act alluded to above caused CEDA financial prejudice, to wit the loss of the amount of P 669, 842.11, which amount was in fact paid and never used for the project,” the charge sheet states. The allegation is that the transaction did not end with the CEDA payment but it forms part of the foundation for a subsequent money-laundering charge against Stess Engineering and Sharpe.
P1.4 million ‘refund’ attempt
The second count concerns another alleged attempt to get money out of CEDA. The State alleges that on December 21, 2023, Native Outdoor, Balopi, Stess Engineering and Sharpe attempted to obtain P1, 399,810.56 from CEDA. This time, the amount was allegedly presented as costs incurred by Stess Engineering in constructing billboards. The charge sheet alleges that Native Outdoor had purportedly settled the bill with Stess Engineering and that CEDA was therefore, required to refund the amount. But investigators allege that the accused submitted false quotations, invoices and cash receipts as proof of payment. “At all material times, the accused persons knew that such representation was false,” the State alleges. Unlike the first transaction, the charge is one of attempt to obtain by false pretences, meaning the State alleges the money was sought but the attempted fraud did not result in the same alleged financial loss to CEDA.
The P2.89 million digital screen
The biggest alleged CEDA transaction in the charge sheet involves P2, 895,657. The State alleges that on February 2, 2023, Native Outdoor, Balopi, Keysource, its director Tshepiso Innocent Makgoeng and Duncan Mothusi Gaolebe acted together to defraud CEDA of that amount. The money was allegedly sought for the provision of a single digital screen at the Setlhoa Sefalana store. The charge sheet gives the specifications as an LED screen measuring 12 metres by five metres, complete with sending cards, processors, receiving cards and panels. CEDA allegedly paid the full P2,895,657 into Keysource’s First Capital Bank account but the State alleges that Keysource had never supplied the digital screen to Native Outdoor. The alleged consequence, according to the charge sheet, was financial prejudice to CEDA equivalent to the full amount paid.
The charge sheet further alleges that on August 1, 2023, roughly six months after the alleged CEDA payment, Keysource transferred P2, 395,657 to Native Outdoor’s First National Bank account and that transfer is the subject of two separate money-laundering counts. The State alleges that Keysource, Makgoeng and Gaolebe transferred the money knowing that it was derived directly from the alleged fraud. The charge against Native Outdoor and Balopi is effectively the other side of the same transaction because they allegedly received the P2, 395,657, knowing that it represented proceeds of a confiscation offence. The alleged movement leaves P500, 000 between the original P2, 895,657 CEDA payment and the P2, 395,657 transfer.
The P462, 242.64 trail
A second alleged money-laundering trail involves Stess Engineering and Native Impressions. The State alleges that on December 23, 2024, Stess Engineering transferred P462,242.64 from its First National Bank account to an account belonging to Native Impressions. Native Impressions is described in the charge sheet as a company belonging to Balopi. The transfer is the subject of countfFour, in which Stess Engineering and Sharpe are accused of laundering the alleged proceeds. Count Five then targets Native Impressions and Balopi for allegedly receiving the same P462, 242.64, knowing that it was derived directly from the alleged fraud. The two counts therefore place the same transaction under the microscope from opposite ends being the alleged transferor and alleged recipient.
Taken together, the charges reveal a pattern the prosecution will seek to prove. The alleged trail runs through several corporate names namely Native Outdoor, Stess Engineering, Keysource and Native Impressions with individuals appearing behind the companies in their personal capacities. The charge sheet provides a detailed map of the State's allegations with CEDA money allegedly obtained through billboard and digital-screen projects, followed by transfers between companies.