Three bank tellers based at Agribank’s Gwanda branch allegedly stole about $5 000 from clients’ accounts, NewsDay can reveal.
Agribank chief executive officer Sam Malaba confirmed that three employees had since been arrested for stealing money from clients’ accounts.
“We are fully aware of what transpired at the Gwanda branch. This was caused by lack of proper monitoring mechanisms in our audit department,” said Malaba from head office in Harare.
“We are however on top of the situation”. He said the three were arrested for stealing a combined total of $4 719,00.
“We cannot comment further about the matter as the police are handling it,” he said.
Sources privy to the goings- on at the bank told NewsDay that a number of tellers were involved in fraud at the financial institution over the past few months.
“One of the tellers has since crossed the border to South Africa as the net was closing in on him,” said the source who refused to be identified as he is an account holder at the bank.
“What raised eyebrows was the lavish lifestyles they were living when we all knew very well that they were not earning much.”
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Sources say one of the employees appeared in court last month.Police in Gwanda confirmed this.
“The case that we know of is one that we handled last month,” said Constable Energy Mudzumwa who spoke to NewsDay in the absence of Matabeleland South police spokesperson Thabani Mkhwananzi.
“We have not recorded the other cases you are referring to,” he said. “Check with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) fraud squad”. The CID however referred us back to the police press and public relations office.
Sources said account holders were now losing faith in the Agribank Gwanda branch as they felt that their accounts would be “looted”.
“We do not understand how this went on undetected for so many months,” said the source. “The bank needs to seriously investigate the rot.”
