The criminal dealings of bank officials are under the spotlight once again after Standard Bank suspended a marketing manager following his arrest in connection with a major drug and firearms bust.

Raed Cupido, 40, was arrested on June 10 at a storage unit in Roeland Street, Cape Town, where police allegedly discovered 15 bricks of cocaine worth R18 million, an AK-47 rifle, five 9mm pistols, and a stash of ammunition in his possession.

Cupido’s case has reignited attention on a series of incidents involving bank employees implicated in serious crimes.

In July 2024, two former Absa bank employees in the Eastern Cape were sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for fraud and money laundering involving more than R1 million.

Florika Shenay Owusu, 31, and Abongile Tyusha, 30, were sentenced by the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for offences committed between November 2019 and June 2021 while working at Absa.

The two received five years for fraud and theft, and 10 years for money laundering, with four years suspended for five years on condition they do not violate the Prevention of Organised Crime Act during that period.

On August 8, 2024, former bank employee Mziwakhe Khumalo was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Gqeberha New Law Court for fraud, money laundering, and contravention of the Electronic Communication and Transactions Act, Act 25 of 2002.

Khumalo and his co-accused were arrested by the Hawks’ Gqeberha Serious Commercial Investigation team on September 29, 2021. Their crimes occurred between 2017 and 2018, when Khumalo unlawfully accessed a bank account belonging to a German client, changed the contact and signing authority details, and granted access to his co-accused.

He then opened a fraudulent cheque account and transferred R400,000 from the victim’s investment account. He also attempted to transfer an additional R4.8 million, but the transaction was unsuccessful.

Most recently, the case of Dr Nomsa Praisy Masuku has returned to court. A former Standard Bank employee who served as Head of the CSI Programme for the “Adopt A School Trust,” Masuku was arrested in June 2024 for allegedly embezzling funds intended for student scholarships.

The Trust was established to provide scholarships, bursaries, and awards to learners from schools adopted by Standard Bank’s programme, supporting those who qualify to further their studies at recognised institutions of higher learning.

During her time at the bank, Dr Masuku was entrusted with managing the Corporate Social Investment programme.

A Hawks investigation revealed that she allegedly bypassed proper procedures by awarding scholarships to friends and family through document manipulation without the approval of the trust’s committee. Some of the funds, amounting to R1.2 million, were allegedly deposited directly into her personal bank account.

Her case has been postponed until later in July 2025. Bail for Masuku, her nephew Ciniso Masuku, and co-accused Mark Phillip Roux has been extended.

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus 

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