Suicidal depressed client

******** ********** activities occurring within Standard

On the 1st of April 2016, I Thabang Welcome Kgope became a victim of a ********** transaction which resulted in me being de*****ed R94800.00 by the suspect known as L. Mlambo.

Upon the incident, an agreement to purchase a mini bus was taking place. After negotiations with the perpetrator involved (L. Mlambo). I was instructed to deposit a sum of R95000.00 into account number ********** 4892, an account held with Standard Bank in order to conclude the transaction. The deposit was made at Standard Bank Vaal Mall Vanderbijipark telephone number ********** 741 shop no.122

Subsequently the deposit was concluded and the account holder disappeared and no continuation of the transaction took place thus I opened a ******** case of *****.

After a lengthy investigation, the police’s efforts were futile since the suspect could not be apprehended due to factors such as inability to track cellphone number and residential address of the suspect.

A subpoena was issued to Standard Bank regarding the account number in order to aid the investigation and block the account pending investigation, but only the transaction list of the account and identity copy of the suspect could be attained.

The lawful procedure before opening a bank account as outlined by the Code of Banking Practice Act 2012 (Therewith will be referred to as ‘The Act’) requires a valid identity document, 2: proof of residence (no older than three months)and furthermore proof of employment and a signature from the employer agreeing that the account holder works. Additionally, according to section 7 of The Code of Banking Practice Act- the bank should verify the information provided by the customer through additional inquiries or other sources of informationto activate the card in order to haveeffective customer identification.

Yet as one notes upon the subpoena only a copy of the identity document was retrieved which raises the suspicion that this account was opened ********ly and **********ly because the steps outlined in The Act requires proof of residence in order to ensure that the documentation of the party is material which is clearly stated in the ‘financial education - how to open an account’ in the Standard Bank website, which illustrates failure of the bank in attaining proof of residence and the negligence of the bank in allowing a party to open an account without this crucial information from the beginning in order to carry out ********** activities.

Consequently, overlooking section 3.2 of the Act which clearly states that ‘Before we are allowed by law to establish a relationship with you…we are required to perform certain identification and verification steps about you’ which illustrates that the bank should ensure that a party is employed, in order to ensure effective banking. There discrepancies regarding information such as where the account was opened including the branch in which it was opened, when it was opened and who the consultant was that aided the account opening which should be easily accessible to the bank to aid law enforcement in apprehending this ***** syndicate.

Furthermore, the perpetrator received an amount of R94 800 in which the bank failed to raise this as suspicious activity due to the fact that the perpetrators previous financial income was unknown and the source of payment and reasons for payments into this account was unknown, this opposes Standard Banks duty to prevent money laundering or financial crimes. As any amount that is deposited to a person who has failed to present evidence of source of income or employment should raise a red flag. Secondly failure by the bank to investigate when the money was withdrawn in a lump sum thereafter the account being closed also raises a red flag of ********** behavior more specifically money laundering

Therefore, I am appealing to the standard bank management to thoroughly investigate this issue furthermore, paying special attention to the employers of Standard bank who assisted L Mlambo in her ********** behavior because this is a clear indication that the syndicate was working with someone inside Standard Bank who assisted in opening the account, withdrawing the lump sum and ensuring that the syndicate cannot be traced.

Therefore, May information such as proof of residence, branch where the account was opened and any other relevant information be forwarded to me, Thabang Kgope and the investigating officer Thomas.

The above letter was forwarded to standard bank in February 2017 seeking assistance from the bank regarding the matter, unfortunately the bank has failed to furnish me with information nor a response. Furthermore the matter has left me in depression since I have accumulated debt which I'm paying for and it's taking a toll on me. Currently under debt review and contemplating suicide each day as it's difficult to make ends meet.

T.W. KGOPE