A former Standard Bank employee has been sentenced to three years in prison for stealing more than R500,000 (£21,000) meant for cash machines in South Africa’s North West province.

Bongani Vincent Nkosi, 37, claimed he was kidnapped and forced to steal the money, but failed to report the alleged incident to either the police or his employers.

The court heard that Nkosi was responsible for loading cash into six ATMs at the bank’s Mabopane branch when the theft occurred in February 2017.

Prosecutors said he loaded only R70,000 into an ATM when he was supposed to deposit R630,000.

“He claimed unknown people threatened to harm him if he didn’t steal R1 million from the bank,” said Sivenathi Gunya, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

The theft was discovered during a routine cash count, but Nkosi, who was the sole custodian of the vault, could not explain the missing funds.

The Commercial Crimes Court handed down an eight-year sentence, with five years suspended, after finding him guilty of two counts of theft last month.

State Advocate Fhulufhelo Munyai highlighted the rise in commercial crimes while arguing for a harsh sentence.

The region’s chief prosecutor, Dr Rachel Makhari, welcomed the jail term, saying she hoped it would deter others from similar crimes.

Standard Bank is one of South Africa’s largest financial institutions, with thousands of ATMs across the country.