Riot Hlatshwayo

Riot Hlatshwayo

A number of Standard Bank clients have laid fraud charges after their money allegedly disappeared from their accounts while they were in possession of their bank cards.

At least six people opened cases at the Bushbuckridge police station in Mpumalanga after discovering that their money had been withdrawn without their knowledge.

Caroline Mdluli, 34, of Ramalema village near Bushbuckridge, told Sowetan that she had lost more than R45 000.

The unemployed woman said she had received the money from the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) after the death of her husband, Hendrick Malope, in July 2006.

Malope worked as a driver at the regional water affairs department in Bushbuckridge and died after becoming ill.

Mdluli, a mother of three, said she received a call from the pension fund telling her that her pension benefits had been paid into her Standard Bank account.

She said she spoke to Bushbuckridge Standard Bank officials to find out how this was possible her money should be withdrawnbecause her bank card was in her possession all the time.

Mpumalanga police comfirmed that they were investigating at least six similar cases in the Bushbuckridge area alone.

The bank's provincial sales manager in Mpumalanga, Andre Jonker, said he was unaware of the situation but promised to immediately conduct investigations.