KLANG – A government pensioner lost her hard-earned savings of RM1.16 million as a result of fraud purportedly committed by a local bank employee she trusted and thought of as a friend.
The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that the bank’s Klang branch manager withdrew her savings recurrently, without her knowledge, and transferred it to a third party.
She expressed devastation to reporters over the fact that the alleged perpetrator still remains a free man and questioned why no action had been taken against the banking employee up to this point.
The senior citizen is among five other bank customers who appeared in a presser today with Klang MP Charles Santiago alleging fraud by the same bank manager.
According to the DAP representative, about 45 victims, all premium account owners, lost millions of ringgit after this particular manager allegedly kept his clients’ bank books, forged their signatures, and withdrew their savings without their knowledge.
Although the manager has since been suspended from his position, Santiago lambasted the bank for keeping mum about the complaints and reports lodged by the victims since January.
“Six months had passed but the bank has been silent about this matter. It is only raising more questions among the victims of attempts to keep this under wraps,” he said.
He also asked if such scams were orchestrated by just one employee, or if there is more than meets the eye.
“Banks have a fiduciary duty based on trust and such trust must be realised. What is the mechanism? The question here is, how did one individual manage to scam so many people?
“So are there more people involved in the scam, or is it just one person? We need answers.”
In addition, the MP also called on Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to look into the pressing matter since the central bank is aware of it after complaints had been lodged in January.
Santiago slammed the central bank, questioning why it is “sitting around” and not doing anything about the issue.
The opposition lawmaker said that if BNM refuses to take action, public confidence in the banking institution itself is now at risk.
“It involves millions of dollars and they know which party is involved. What could they (BNM) possibly be waiting for?”
Meanwhile, another victim present at the press conference also shared his predicament.
The elderly gentleman, a customer of the bank since 1968, said he only realised he had been defrauded when he was told by another bank officer that he had nothing left in his savings.
“Whenever I went to the bank and asked for my ASNB (Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd) interest, the manager would always tell me that it has not been wired to my account and told me to return another time,” he said.
“The next time I went to the bank, the manager collapsed, and since then, I could not contact him.
“Therefore, I asked another officer to check my fixed deposit, forex, and ASNB accounts. I was shocked when the officer told me that I had nothing left.”
Another premium account holder, who was also allegedly duped, believes there are clients, especially retirees and elderly, who are still kept in the dark on such scams.
“It is not easy telling people about our scenario, but we are doing this in hopes that once this matter has been made known to the public, it will help raise awareness and remind people to head to the bank to make necessary checks regarding their savings and investments.” – The Vibes, June 26, 2022
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