KUALA LUMPUR – Seven police reports have been lodged over a criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving at least RM4 million allegedly siphoned by a bank’s customer relations manager, according to Bukit Aman.
The announcement comes following The Vibes’ report involving a lawyer who lost RM1 million in life savings from an international financial institution.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said the suspect has since been arrested on September 21.
In a statement, Kamarudin confirmed that the suspect had initially been charged over allegations of buying seven gold bars with funds from the fixed deposit account of a customer.
He said the manager pleaded not guilty and was released on RM30,000 bail after being charged in court for CBT under section 408 of the Penal Code on September 27.
“Six other police reports are still under investigation,” Kamarudin said.
“Based on investigations, police believe many more victims have suffered losses due to the suspect’s actions but have yet to lodge police reports.”
Kamarudin also advised other victims who may be involved to come forward and lodge reports at the nearest police station for further investigations.
Another police source, when contacted, did not discount the possibility of Kamarudin’s statement being related to yesterday’s revelation by the lawyer.
“If you are referring to the same issue and if it is from the same bank then maybe, yes,” the police source said in reference to the article by The Vibes.
“We are still investigating this (case).”
Asked why the banking institution has not been named to allow customers to check their accounts, the police source said it is up to the bank to release a statement on the matter.
“It is not suitable to mention the specific bank yet unless the bank itself gives you a statement. You can check with their PR (public relations) department to verify (the report).”
On Sunday, The Vibes reported the case of the lawyer, who in a police report, claimed RM1 million in his fixed deposit accounts were transferred to an unknown individual’s account without his knowledge or consent.
Met by The Vibes recently, the lawyer, who is in his 30s, said he visited the bank’s Bangsar branch with his mother on April 7 to open the fixed deposit accounts.
The RM1 million in funds was entrusted to a relationship manager from the branch who would handle all banking matters related to him and his mother.
The bank had also subsequently issued two fixed deposit account certificates amounting to RM500,000 each.
Less than six months later, on October 1, the lawyer returned to the bank to check on the balance of both accounts.
It was discovered that the funds were transferred out from both accounts on June 11 and 25 amounting to RM500,000 per transaction, while much of the country was facing movement restrictions.
The case has raised fears over the security of large funds handled by priority banking services for high-net-worth individuals.
Moreover, an insider from the financial industry told The Vibes he believes it is virtually impossible for a “rogue” priority banking customer relations officer to operate alone when swindling funds.
The insider, who is also a senior executive from a foreign bank operating in Kuala Lumpur’s golden triangle, notes that all modern-day banks have a common “maker-checker” system, in which transactions need to be conducted and verified by more than one individual.
“This means that one banking officer, the ‘maker’, is the one who receives the instructions for the transaction (from the customer), while the ‘checker’ – who is usually a higher-ranking manager – will be the one to confirm and approve the transaction,” the insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. – The Vibes, October 25, 2021
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