A former FirstRand Bank employee has been permanently barred from working in the financial sector after investigators discovered she had repeatedly accessed her ex-boyfriend’s bank account without permission.
According to findings from the bank, she also accessed accounts belonging to her own family members. In total, the accounts were viewed at least 417 times without proper authorisation, raising serious concerns about misconduct and data privacy violations.
The bank concluded that her actions showed a lack of honesty and integrity, and that she no longer met the standards required to work in the financial services industry. Although she admitted to accessing the accounts, she insisted that she did so with the account holders’ permission and claimed the log entries reflected repeated recordings of the same actions rather than separate incidents.
She took the matter to the Financial Services Tribunal in an attempt to overturn the debarment. However, the tribunal rejected her appeal, saying her explanations were improbable and that the exact number of access points did not change the nature of her misconduct. It also found no evidence supporting her claim that her former partner had allowed her to view his account.
The tribunal ruled that her conduct violated multiple financial regulations and her employer’s internal policies, demonstrating a clear lack of integrity. With no grounds to challenge the bank’s decision, her application was dismissed.