Couple arrested for R36m stolen from FNB client

Two more suspects were at the weekend arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in Johannesburg in relation to theft of over R36 million from a deceased First National Bank (FNB) client.

Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke said the couple aged 28 and 43, allegedly received R6 million from one of the suspects in this case.

He said: “The couple started to fight over the money when the sender requested it back.

“When the girlfriend went to the police in Johannesburg to open a case of assault against her boyfriend, the police discovered that the money they were fighting for was actually stolen and Limpopo Hawks were investigating the matter. The Hawks were alerted and found that R5.5 million of the R6 million that they had received was already returned back to the sender.”

On 10 June 2022, the FNB employee, Thabiso Matenda, based in Makhado, was arrested by the same team for allegedly stealing R36 989 051 belonging to the bank client.

“It is alleged that on 25 April 2022, Matenda opened a profile of the client, who had just died in a vehicle accident a day before (24 April 2022), without authorisation.

“It is further alleged that the accused connived with his accomplice to open a new bank account, linked it to the deceased’s account and started spending all the money from the deceased’s account,” said Maluleke.

He said the bank discovered the shenanigans and reported the matter to the Hawks.

“Some of the stolen money was allegedly donated to a certain church. Matenda is still in police custody after his bail was successfully opposed.

“The couple is expected to appear in the Makhado Magistrate’s court on 18 July 2022. The investigation is still ongoing and more arrests are expected,” he said.