Johannesburg - The Hawks’ investigation into two recent robberies at FNB locations continues with no new leads announced.
According to customers whose possessions were stolen, legal action is forthcoming.
Kelly Fraser’s father's safety deposit box was stolen from the Randburg branch, and is now organising other victims through WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.
“Once everyone’s back from holiday, we’re going to be meeting on January 21 to formalise our plans,” she said, adding that a lawsuit is likely.
Fraser will continue to collect names of those affected by the heists before proceeding with legal action. “(FNB) takes no responsibility for what happened, and continues to say it’s not their problem, essentially,” Fraser said.
The first heist occurred at the Randburg branch on December 18, and several hundred boxes were stolen. About 250 of the boxes were later found dumped in the veld near FNB Stadium in Nasrec.
A second robbery came not long after when the contents of about 30 boxes went missing from the Parktown branch on New Year’s’ Eve. It remains unclear whether the two incidents are related.
Danny Ramkelawan kept three generations of family heirlooms and documents in his family’s safety deposit box at Parktown. Although the break-in occurred last Saturday, he was not notified until Tuesday.
FNB representatives said the bank was obliged to wait for police to conclude its initial investigation before informing customers.
FNB claimed that it notified customers whose boxes were moved before the robberies from a branch in Fourways to the Randburg location.
Many customers, including Ramkelawan, did not have additional insurance on the contents of the boxes. “That’s the reason why we put (our valuables) in the box,” he said.
Ramkelawan said he supports Fraser’s efforts and will join the lawsuit. “We need to take this forward. This is just not acceptable,” he said.
Law enforcement is holding off on releasing further information on the matter while they allow the investigations to run their course.
“We don’t have any progress at the moment,” Hawks spokesman Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu said. “We are not commenting further on the matter as it might compromise the investigations.”
Mulamu did confirm that many of the recovered boxes were being examined by forensics experts.
“FNB assures its customers that it is giving the matter utmost priority and will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this criminal act. We are deploying additional resources to work hand-in-hand with the law enforcement authorities on the investigation,” FNB representatives said in a statement addressing the second heist.
While the Parktown branch remains closed, the Randburg location has reopened.