A former FNB employee, who was found guilty of fraud, has been sentenced to an effective 15 years behind bars.
Bantu Ntutwana, 36, was sentenced in the Gqeberha Regional Court alongside his co-accused 45-year-old Lunga Sinyaza.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Eastern Cape said in addition to 15 years for fraud, the duo also received an additional five years for organised crime.
Both sentences would run concurrently.
The conviction stems from Ntutwana using his job as a multi-skilled service consultant at the First National Bank (FNB) in Newtown Park Branch in Gqeberha, to siphon funds.
NPA spokesperson Tyali Luxolo said Ntutwana was found guilty of fraudulently manipulating bank details of a deceased person named Septimus Hauptfleisch.
Tyali said Hauptfleisch died on November 1, 2015, at the age of 88 and was a client of FNB.
“His wife, Alette was appointed executor of his estate. However, Ntutwana accessed Hauptfleisch's two accounts without authorisation between February, 29, 2016 and March 2, 2016.”
The NPA said that despite an Online Fingerprint Verification (OFV) indicating Hauptfleisch's death, Ntutwana manually verified the identity of an unknown person as Hauptfleisch.
“He then changed contact details, issued a replacement card, increased daily limits, requested an early redemption and then transferred R480,714.38 to one of the two accounts which belonged to the deceased.”
Tyali said Ntutwana further added a payment link to Sinyaza's account, enabling electronic transfers.
“Within days, R15,000 was withdrawn from Sinyaza's account.”
The NPA said despite entering into a plea of not guilty, Senior State Advocate, Ulrike De Klerk led the evidence of an FNB forensic investigator.
“The investigator in court detailed how Ntutwana manipulated the banking systems to transfer funds to Sinyaza's account.”
Following the sentencing, Ntutwana applied for leave to appeal against conviction and was granted bail pending the appeal.
“Sinyanza's leave to appeal against conviction and sentence was refused, and bail pending petition was denied,” said Tyali.
Welcoming the sentence, the Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Barry Madolo said this verdict demonstrates the NPA’s commitment to protecting the vulnerable banking clients and upholding the integrity of financial institutions.
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