R103m ABSA Fraud Trial Continues, Wife of Accused and Former Employee Joins

• Xolela Masebeni, a former specialist engineer for ABSA Bank, and his wife appeared in the Palm Ridge Commerical Crimes Court in Johannesburg
• Masebeni is accused of defrauding ABSA of R103 million by transferring the money between six different bank accounts
• ABSA opened a case against Masebeni following an internal audit which revealed the extent of his fraud

JOHANNESBURG - Xolela Masebeni, a former specialist engineer for ABSA Bank, and his wife appeared in the Palm Ridge Commerical Crimes Court in Johannesburg today (27 January) on fraud charges.

Masebeni is accused of defrauding ABSA of R103 million by transferring the money between six different bank accounts during a four-month period. The 30-year-old ex-employee was joined in the courtroom by his 21-year-old wife, who allegedly benefitted from the stolen money.

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According to TimesLIVE, Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu, a Hawks spokesperson, said that ABSA opened a case against Masebeni following an internal audit which revealed the extent of his fraud.

The consequences of Masebeni's fraud

No ABSA clients lost money due to Masebeni's alleged fraud, but the bank has seen the case as a reason to upgrade its already strict anti-fraud protocols, News24 reports.

"We expect every single employee to uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for any deviations in this regard," an ABSA spokesperson said.

Masebeni's case follows many similar incidents that have happened at ABSA in recent years. One of these cases took place in 2017 when a sales consultant for the bank, Moses Moroe, fraudulently took R366 000 from ABSA over two years and was found guilty.

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Reactions to ABSA fraud case

@Sasalurv remarked:

"Bonnie and Clyde style."

@Nix_KS believes:

"I know it’s wrong but it must take some serious skill to steal R100m from a bank. They should be giving the guy a cybersecurity job."

@MogaleMokoena asked:

"Why would you steal R100m?"

@C_chaba remarked:

"Dating a fraudster is serious business moes."

@Mpum_mpum said:

"He stole R100 million and didn’t even upgrade her wig."

Steinhoff scandal: R24 billion settlement to be paid to shareholders

In other news about fraud, Briefly News previously reported that the Western Cape High Court has finally reached a decision in the Steinhoff accounting scandal. As a result, the company has to pay a settlement of R24 billion, which will be divided amongst various shareholders.

After years of court appearances and legal disputes, this decision has been ruled, both in the Netherlands, where Steinhoff's international holdings are based, and South Africa.

The deadline for payment has not been clearly stipulated. However, the total amount of claims facing Steinhoff is R180 billion, meaning they currently only have to pay 13.3% of their total claims back.

Source: Briefly News