A 28-year-old former FNB employee has been arrested by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation unit for allegedly stealing close to R37 million belonging to a deceased client of First National Bank (FNB).
Captain Matimba Maluleke, the Hawks spokesperson said: “It is alleged that on April 25, the suspect who was an FNB consultant at Makhado branch opened the profile of the client who had just died in a vehicle accident a day before without any authorisation.
“It is further alleged that the suspect connived with his accomplice to open a new bank account and liked it to the deceased’s account and started spending all the money from the deceased’s account.”
The Hawks said a total of R36 989 051 was stolen from the account of the deceased. Maluleke said the illegal activities were traced by the bank and cases of fraud and theft were opened with the Hawks.
When the 28-year-old employee was questioned about the matter by the bank managers, he resigned with immediate effect. “During the investigation, it was discovered that some of the stolen money was used to buy expensive cars and donate to a certain church,” Maluleke said.
The suspect is expected to appear at the Makhado Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Source: IOL, The South African, Times Live, image from Twitter