A former bank manager who was the mastermind behind a robbery at her workplace with the help of her ex-husband and three others has been found guilty, eight years after their arrest.
Carmen Kolbee was branch manager at Standard Bank in Kuils River and the team leader at Zevenwacht Mall at the time of her arrest in 2016.
Kolbee, from Blackheath, was arrested along with her ex-husband, Kensley Kolbee.
At the time of the robbery, they were divorced but were living together in Blackheath.
The State proved that Kolbee had been the mastermind behind the heist in November 2014 and had initially planned to steal R3 million from the bank’s Kuils River branch, but only managed to get away with R520,000.
Kensley had recruited their three accomplices - Ebrahim Isaacs, Samoska Hattes and Leroy Ackerman.
The trio entered into a plea and sentence agreement soon after being charged and were sentenced to five years in jail.
The former couple pleaded not guilty, but last week they were found guilty and convicted of robbery in the Blue Downs Regional Court.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Eric Ntabazalila confirmed the conviction and said the duo would be sentenced in August.
“Accused 1 (Carmen Kolbee) provided all the inside information relating to the processes within the bank and accused 2 (Kensley Kolbee) enlisted the help of three persons to execute the robbery.”
A family member of the couple, who asked not to be identified, said they were shocked at the sentencing as they were not even aware that the matter had been on the court roll.
“We hope that the years that they were awaiting trial or on trial will be taken into consideration when they are sentenced,” the relative said.
genevieve.heunis@inl.co.za