The dark underbelly of South Africa’s banking sector has been exposed once again, as Standard Bank suspended one of its own following a dramatic arrest that has stunned the industry.

Raed Cupido, a 40-year-old senior marketing manager, was caught red-handed in a massive drug and firearms bust in Cape Town. Police uncovered 15 bricks of cocaine valued at R18 million, alongside an AK-47 assault rifle, five 9mm pistols, and a cache of ammunition in a storage unit linked to Cupido.

This high-profile arrest has cast a harsh spotlight on the troubling pattern of criminal behavior among bank employees. It comes on the heels of a series of scandals involving fraud, money laundering, and other serious crimes within the financial sector.

Just last year, two former Absa bank employees in the Eastern Cape were convicted of fraud and money laundering involving over R1 million. Florika Shenay Owusu, 31, and Abongile Tyusha, 30, were found guilty of orchestrating complex schemes between 2019 and 2021 while working at the bank.

Owusu and Tyusha were handed sentences by the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court: five years for fraud and theft, and 10 years for money laundering, with four of those years suspended for five years, provided they comply with the Prevention of Organised Crime Act throughout that time.

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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