Absa takes fraud seriously and acts decisively against employee misconduct and breaches of control, according to the banking group.
Absa, one of the largest banking groups on the continent, was speaking to Sunday World after one of its employees was sentenced to 25 years for stealing R500 000.
Thokozani Ndlovu, who was employed by the bank in Volksrust, Mpumalanga will also forfeit his pension to the bank to compensate for the loss.
The 35-year-old, who worked with ATM machines, was fingered as the culprit when half a million rands was stolen from the bank over a three-day period in November 2018.
He was arrested four months later following an internal investigation which identified him as the prime suspect.
Absa laid formal charges against Ndlovu and he was arrested in March 2019 and subsequently found guilty of three counts of theft by the Volksrust regional court.
“We take matters of fraud and employee misconduct extremely seriously and have fully cooperated with the authorities during the investigation,” a spokesperson for the bank told Sunday World.
“Absa can confirm that the employee’s actions did not affect any clients’ accounts. While we have taken further measures to enhance our controls, Absa expects every single employee to uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity.
“The bank has a zero-tolerance policy for any deviations in this regard. We act decisively against incidents of employee misconduct and breaches of controls and cooperate with law enforcement to ensure we maintain the highest levels of integrity.”
Ndlovu was sentenced to 10 years in jail for each of the two counts of theft and another five years for the third count of theft on April 26.
The court further ruled that Ndlovu should forfeit his pension to the banking group to compensate for the loss incurred.
“Out of 25 years imprisonment, he is expected to serve 20 years behind bars,” said Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, spokesperson for police in Mpumalanga, explaining that the five-year sentence will run concurrently with the second 10-year sentence.
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