Dorcus Nyambi worked at Standard Bank as an administrator in Tonga, Mpumalanga. Picture: Supplied by Hawks
A former Standard Bank employee was sentenced to eight years imprisonment after she was found guilty of stealing R940,000 from an account of a deceased person.
The Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crime Court sentenced Dorcus Nyambi on Monday.
The 37-year-old worked at the financial institution as an administrator in Tonga, Mpumalanga.
Mpumalanga provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, said Nyambi re-activated a dormant bank account belonging to a deceased client whilst the family was busy with their estate claim.
“She then colluded with the other accused, created beneficiaries who were linked to the re-activated bank account and deposited different amounts of money into the linked beneficiaries bank accounts in that misrepresenting and prejudicing Standard Bank of actual loss to an amount of R940, 000,” she said
After the bank noticed what happened, a case was opened and later transferred to the Hawks for further investigation.
Sekgotodi added that Nyambi was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, of which five years are suspended on the condition that she is not convicted of theft or attempted theft during the suspension period.
Additionally, she was found guilty of the Prevention of Organised Crime act (POCA) 121 of 1998 and two counts of contravention of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.
She was sentenced to three years imprisonment for the offence.
In March, IOL reported that a former FNB bank employee was found guilty of stealing R400,000 from a client’s bank account.
Mzwakhe Khumalo, 33, was found guilty by the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Khumalo’s co-accused Lwando Dingiswayo pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced in March last year.
Explaining the merits of the case, Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Yolisa Mgolodela said that between the period of December 2017 and March 2018, an investment account of a German national was accessed by two bank employees.
“The contact information of the account holder was changed, the existing signing authority on the account was cancelled and a new signing authority on the account was granted to another person who was part of the syndicate.
“This person then transferred funds from the complainant’s investment account to his cheque account and attempted to withdraw money from the cheque account.
“When this was unsuccessful, a hold was placed on the cheque account.”
Mgolodela said another member of the syndicate transferred the balance of the money in the account to another account opened with fraudulent documentation.
“An amount of R400,000 was successfully withdrawn before the account was frozen by the bank.”
She said the German national was not in South Africa during this time.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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