Confessions of a bank teller: Bank officials in hot water for theft of R4 million from clients
Bank teller Bonginkosi Praise Khoza, 28, admitted to his role in the unauthorized transactions and is now awaiting sentencing.
Image: File/SAPS
A bank teller who, along with two co-accused, allegedly embezzled over R3.9 million from client accounts has pleaded guilty to the charges. Bonginkosi Praise Khoza, 28, admitted to his role in the unauthorised transactions and is now awaiting sentencing.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, said Khoza, alongside a bank manager identified as Selby Khoza, and a fellow teller, Winny Mashaba, allegedly made off with R3,950,941 in fraudulent transactions in August 2016.
The trio was arrested a year later, in 2017, by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation team on charges of fraud, theft, and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, spokesperson for the Hawks in Mpumalanga, confirmed the latest developments in the case.
"Bonginkosi Praise Khoza pleaded guilty to all the charges against him on Monday, September 4, 2025," said Nkosi.
"He was found guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, 2025. The other two suspects have maintained their innocence, and their bail was extended. They will appear in court alongside Khoza during his sentencing."
Meanwhile, provincial head of the Hawks in Mpumalanga, Major General Nico Gerber, commended the multi-agency team for their professional handling of the case.
"We will ensure that justice is done to all the affected parties," said Gerber.
The thorough investigations into the matter involved several agencies, including the Hawks' serious commercial crime investigation unit, the priority crime specialised investigation unit, the Financial Intelligence Centre, bank investigators, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Last month, IOL reported that the Gqeberha Regional Court handed down a five-year prison sentence to Lusanda Gloria Qose, a former sales and service consultant at First National Bank (FNB), for her involvement in a sophisticated fraud scheme that exploited a vulnerable senior citizen's banking profile.
The court's ruling comes in the aftermath of Qose's conviction for fraud, cyber fraud, and the unlawful use of access credentials, a crime that threatened the integrity of the financial sector and allowed her to siphon off a staggering R245,000 over a period of three months.
Qose, 35, abused her position at the Pier 14 branch, unlawfully accessing internal bank systems between January 22 and April 24, 2024.
With her employee credentials, she manipulated account details belonging to 68-year-old complainant Mlungwana Maranti, changing his registered cellphone number to divert his One-Time-Pin (OTP) authorisations to herself without his knowledge.
She was able to create a second bank card linked to Maranti's accounts, subsequently executing unauthorised fund transfers from his Money Maximiser account to his Encore account and conducting multiple ATM withdrawals.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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