Search on for guard accused of walking out of Mall of Africa with R4m cash in a shopping trolley

Cash transport company SBV Services on Tuesday appealed for information to help the police find a former employee allegedly linked to the theft of R4m from its collection facility at the Mall of Africa more than six months ago.

The Sowetan reported that Bathobile Mlangeni allegedly walked out of the shopping centre on July 15 last year with a trolley containing refuse bags stuffed with cash.

Mlangeni, 29, from Dlamini, Soweto, who was on duty at the time of the incident,  allegedly cut open two bulk cash bags with a pair of scissors before transferring the cash into the bags and trolley, the newspaper reported, quoting a source close to the investigation.

She has not reported for work since, according to police, who want to question her.

SBV Services said a case was lodged with the police when the incident occurred at the facility for cash collected from tenants in the mall. Its internal risk and compliance team "is continuing to work closely with the SAPS on the investigation," the company said.

SBV said it was not in a position to disclose more details because of "the sensitive nature of the investigation".

Mark Barrett, group chief executive, said: “As a key service provider that ensures that cash is available for the citizens of South Africa, and as a responsible corporate citizen, we do not tolerate any crime and take all internal and external incidents seriously. If an incident does occur, we will focus our efforts together with the relevant authorities to ensure the perpetrators involved are brought to justice.”

The company said anyone with information can call the SBV hotline on 083 408 7029.