Two former Absa employees have been sentenced to jail time for creating fraudulent bank accounts to steal funds from foreign passport holders and deceased citizens. Florika Shenay Owusu, 31, and Abongile Tyusha, 30, were sentenced to five years for fraud and theft, as well as 10 years for money laundering, with four years of the 10-year sentences suspended for five years on the condition that they do not violate the Prevention of Organised Crime Act during that time.
The duo colluded to transfer money from dormant bank accounts into new accounts that they fraudulently opened. Owusu, stationed at the Patensie branch, and Tyusha, at the Dutywa branch, accessed Absa’s electronic banking system to open accounts in the names of deceased individuals and foreigners without their knowledge, according to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
Between November 2019 and June 2021, they issued debit cards for these accounts to facilitate the fraudulent transfers and withdrawals, Tyali added.