A former Standard Bank employee has been permanently banned from working in the financial sector after investigators discovered he used his own money to activate clients’ accounts to meet monthly sales targets.
Curtis Arthus Abrahams, who sold MyMo accounts as part of his job, was found to have breached strict banking rules by depositing funds from his personal account into new client accounts to meet activation requirements.
The MyMo account system requires customers to activate their accounts with a mandatory deposit. However, internal emails sent in September 2020 explicitly stated that bank representatives were prohibited from using their own funds for this purpose. Despite being aware of this rule, Abrahams ignored the policy in an attempt to hit his targets, as reported by Joburg {etc}.
Evidence later revealed that several accounts were activated using his personal money, a move that Standard Bank said misrepresented its records and exposed it to reputational risk.
Abrahams was suspended in September 2022 and resigned before facing a disciplinary hearing in January 2023.
The following month, Standard Bank began formal debarment proceedings, citing dishonesty and misconduct. He was officially debarred in March 2023 after failing to respond to the notice or challenge the findings.
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Nearly two years later, Abrahams sought to overturn the decision at the Financial Services Tribunal (FST). He argued that he only discovered his debarment when he applied for a new job in September 2024, claiming he was unaware of the bank’s appeal process.
However, the FST rejected his explanation, noting inconsistencies in his statements. It ruled that Abrahams had been informed of the procedure to appeal and that even his revised timeline showed an additional six-month delay before lodging his application for reconsideration in March 2025.
His appeal was ultimately dismissed, cementing his removal from the financial industry.
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Picture: Leon Botha / Gallo Images
