The first national manager has been charged with fraud after she was allegedly implicated in a theft of R4m which belongs to the bank. The manager has allegedly transferred the money in foreign exchange payments into her personal bank account.

Hawks spokesperson, Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu, said in a statement on Wednesday that the hawks had arrested the bank manager and changed her with fraud.

Mulamu said that FNB Newton’s operations manager, Zandile Sibiya ,39, had been charged with fraud related to a sum of R4 million that had gone missing from the bank. She appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court earlier this week to face the charge.

“It is alleged that between September 2019 and August 2021, Newtown’s First National Bank (FNB) Operations Manager, Zandile Sibiya (39) fraudulently processed the forex payments with International Banking Centre System transaction and transferred approximately R4 million into her bank account,” Mulamu said.

 “Through the FNB’s forensic analysis, the matter was referred to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation at the Johannesburg office for further investigation,” he said.

He said that the police team had then conducted an extensive investigation and the court granted a warrant for Sibiya’s arrest.

 “The Ormonde resident handed herself in accompanied by her legal representative and the investigation team subsequently charged her with fraud,” Mulamu said.

Mulamu said that she had appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on the day of her arrest. She was released on bail of R10 000 and with no conditions.

The case was postponed for docket disclosure to 18 January 2022.