Former soldier loses P150,000, accuses bank and police

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Friday June 4, 2010 00:00

 

Koboto, who left the army at the rank of Lance Corporal last year, for medical reasons, said that he had over P200,000 in the account, comprising of money deposited into the account on separate occasions through cheques as payment for severance benefits and others.

He said that he learned that an unknown person made cash withdrawals of a total of P150,000 between October and November last year and he reported the matter to the bank.

Koboto, who left the army after 18 years of service said that he also reported the matter to the Broadhurst Police Station and he was called to the bank where he was shown CCTV pictures that showed the person who withdrew the money from the bank ATM. He says that while the person had similar physical features as one of the bank staff the officers insisted that it was him in the CCTV pictures. 'I never went to withdraw huge sums of money and was very careful with my spending because I know that I'm no longer employed and this was my last income,' he told Mmegi.

He said that his subsequent visits to the bank did not bear any fruit as the staff said they could no longer assist him because the matter was now in the hands of the police.

He claims that a CID officer who was assigned to investigate the matter did not show any commitment to resolving the matter and even threatened him. He expressed his suspicions of foul play between the bank staff and police.

Koboto took the matter to Bank of Botswana in a letter written on April 27, 2010, in which he claims the bank staff was behind the alleged theft and was conniving with the CID officer who was investigating the case.

'I therefore request the Bank of Botswana to help and treat this urgently since the case has long been pending,' he said in the letter. Koboto said that his landlord has kicked him out of his house and is threatening to auction his furniture.

Responding to the complaint, the Bank of Botswana assured Koboto that it has instructed Standard Chartered Bank to investigate his case in a letter dated May 14, 2010.

'The outcome will be communicated once the bank has responded. We trust that the matter will be resolved expeditiously to the satisfaction of both parties,' the letter from the Banking Supervision Department reads.

Standard Chatered Bank confirmed that it is aware of the complaint lodged by Koboto and that the bank has assisted police with investigations in the matter. 'As you will appreciate it is not appropriate for us to discuss customer information for reasons of confidentiality. However, at Standard Chartered, our customers are very important to us. We are committed to working closely with our customers to review and resolve any concerns fairly and efficiently,' responded Michael Wiegand, head of Consumer Banking, Botswana and Southern Africa Cluster.

Wiegand also confirmed that Koboto lodged a complaint with the police department, who subsequently asked Standard Chartered Bank for assistance. We provided the police with the assistance required. The final findings of the police investigations will be released by the police department.

Officer In Charge of CID Broadhurst, assistant superintendent Madzida Duna confirmed the case saying they are investigating the matter. However, he said their preliminary investigations have found that Koboto was careless with his funds. 

Standard Chartered Bank also confirmed the correspondence from the Bank of Botswana which they provided.'Standard Chartered Bank takes the security of our customers' funds very seriously, and we have controls and measures in place to ensure that our customers' funds are safe, and we are confident that these controls are working,' stated Wiegand in his response.