Standard Bank liable in fake executor case
Standard Bank has been instructed to pay back more than R2.1m paid to a fake executor by the name of Johan Botha, who managed to convince the bank and the Western Cape High Court Master that he was the authorised executor of the estate of Constance Arnot, who died in August 2021.
Moneyweb reports that the case highlighted some astonishing vulnerabilities in a system meant to safeguard deceased estate assets.
It also reaffirms the legal principle that it is the bank, not the customer, who is liable in the event money is paid out to the wrong person, particularly where negligence is concerned.
In her final will from 2013, Arnot named her son-in-law James Turner as executor of her estate.
On 21 September, shortly after Arnot passed away, Turner submitted the will, death certificate, and his acceptance of trust as executor to the Master’s Office at the court. He then asked the Master to issue the required letters of executorship.
It was a full year later, after complaints from Turner’s attorneys, that the letters of executorship were issued.
What was not known to Turner at the time was that in February of 2022, the Master had also issued letters of executorship to one Johan Botha.
Botha had approached Standard Bank via email, claiming to be the executor of Arnot’s estate.
Moneyweb notes that the bank’s officer in charge of deceased estates demanded certified documents, which Botha appeared to provide, including a copy of the will where he was named as the executor.
This was given further credence by stamps on the will certifying it as a certified true copy of the original.
The bank proceeded to pay out funds from Arnot’s account in April 2022 to Botha and another named recipient, Katherine Smuts.
Turner later found out that the funds had been paid out and immediately contacted the bank to find out to whom and why the funds had been paid out, and based on what documents.
By October 2022, Turner’s attorneys demanded that the bank pay the funds into the estate account.
The bank refused on the grounds that it had already made payment to Botha and suggested Turner take the matter up with Botha directly.
‘Only the bank can claim the funds back from Botha, not the applicant,’ reads the judgment.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
