Absa Bank has paid one of its clients a settlement of more than R115 000 after money was removed from the man's account in 1998.
Neville Melville, the Banking Adjudicator, recommended that Absa pay the client R82 050 plus interest.
Evalt Westman, of Rivonia, has had a dispute with Absa for more than three years after money he invested in an Absa money market account went missing.
In May 1998 Westman sold his Harley Davidson motorcycle for about R80 000. He says he intended investing most of the money for his retirement, and following advice from his former employer, placed the R80 000 in an Absa money market account.
Westman's former employer introduced him to a financial adviser who worked for Absa Bank.
In August 1998, Westman opened a money market account at Absa's Rivonia branch and deposited R80 000 into the account. Later the same year, he withdrew R10 000.
In August 2001, Westman asked the bank for a statement of his account, only to be told that his account had been closed.
Westman was told that, because a year had lapsed since the last transaction, a printout of the statement would have to be obtained from the bank's archives. This would cost him R180 and take two weeks.
In November 2001, Westman was given what he says was a "mostly illegible three-page printout".
It was found that two unauthorised withdrawals had been made from his account. An amount of R50 000 had been withdrawn from his account in December 1998, and just over R32 000 had been withdrawn in June 2000, effectively closing the account.
On both occasions, the withdrawal slips were unsigned and unauthorised. The teller control number on the R50 000 withdrawal slip was the number of the teller who had opened the account in August 1998.
The second withdrawal was marked "as per fax", but Absa has been unable to produce the fax.
Westman was unaware of the status of his account, because at the time he opened it, he did not have a postal address or phone number. Instead, Westman gave Absa the contact details of his former employer.
Westman opened a criminal case in December 2001 at the request of Absa's forensic department.