Bank Teller Defrauds EmpowerBank of US$40K

Zim Now Writer 

A Harare bank teller, Walter Matare, has been sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding EmpowerBank of US$40,377 through a fraudulent currency conversion scheme.

 The Harare Magistrates’ Court, however, suspended one year of his sentence on the condition that he restitutes the stolen funds.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, Matare manipulated the bank's system between January and June 2023, falsely representing Zimbabwean dollar ZWL deposits as United States dollar USD deposits. 

This allowed his associates to withdraw USD despite initially depositing ZWL.

The fraud came to light in June 2023 when Matare deposited money into an accomplice’s account, and it was immediately withdrawn, raising suspicions.

 Investigations revealed that he had been converting ZWL deposits into USD at a 1:1 rate, enabling his accomplices to withdraw foreign currency as soon as funds were deposited.