The Guardia Civil has arrested a 51-year-old Spanish woman in Almoradí for allegedly defrauding a client over a period of 25 years. She is said to have siphoned approximately 1,282,650 euros which she used to maintain a high life, boasting on social networks of exotic and expensive trips.
The woman allegedly stole the money from the account of a Russian octogenarian at the bank where she worked. Following a court appearance last week where she was formally charged the bank clerk was released on bail.
The investigation started a month ago when an 80-year-old Russian reported to the Almoradí Civil Guard that he suspected that a female bank employee had stolen a million and a half dollars, the currency in which he usually carried out the transactions, from his account, during the 25 year period that had been customer. Agents immediately began to look for clues to verify the octogenarian’s claims. They said that they were intrigued by the charge, both for the amount of money, and for the number of years over which it had been taking place.
It was in 1992 when the Russian moved into Rojales and opened his bank account. He quickly established a relationship with the commercial manager of the branch, from whom he was given personalised treatment. As a result he said that he rarely checked his balance only asking for occasional extracts.
He was caught by surprise when in June of this year he asked for a more detailed statement of his account, as he wanted to transfer a large sum of money. He found that he was missing a million and a half dollars.
The Civil Guard studied all past transactions in detail, checking card movements, withdrawals of cash and transfers. It appeared that most of the movements coincided with his absence in Russia, movements that were never authorised by him.
The investigation showed that every time the Russian went back to his country, his bank account reduced a little more, although when he requested a bank statement, everything was “normal”, as falsified it, to make him believe that his account had the correct balance, hiding any irregularities.
Meanwhile, the bank employee, taking advantage of the fact that she had access to her client’s account, withdrew cash and was profiting from the money which continued to fund her luxurious lifestyle.
She enjoyed a regime which provided a good house, a good car and countless trips around the world, of which she continually boated of on social networks.
The woman was arrested last week and charged with an alleged offense of continued bank fraud and a continuing crime of documentary misrepresentation, for which she stole $ 1,500,000 (1,282,650 euros at current exchange rates).
