Abdulkarim Al-Dhiyabi
TAIF — A senior official in a bank in Taif allegedly pilfered SR22 million from a current account of a businessman and managed to flee the Kingdom with the money.
Makkah Police spokesman Col. Ati Al-Qurashi said a relative of the businessman helped the deputy manager of the bank steal the money.
“The deputy manager and the relative worked together for three years to withdraw SR22 million from the businessman’s bank account. After withdrawing the sum of money, the deputy manager incriminated the relative by withdrawing the sum of money from the businessman then depositing it in the relative’s account which he opened without telling him, then withdrawing the money for him to keep,” said Al-Qurashi. He also said the deputy manager has been withdrawing small sums of money throughout the years.
“The deputy manager had also stopped the SMS service the bank sends to its clients informing them of every withdrawal. The police are currently investigating the case thoroughly. We are reviewing the account records of the businessman for the past three years,” said Al-Qurashi.
He added the police had questioned several suspects. They received information that the bank official had quit his job shortly before the investigation started.
“The official used his position to access the system of the bank using the username and password of the employees under him. The police also found out that the deputy manager is now in an eastern European country,” said Al-Qurashi.
He also said the bank official was sighted at several social events in the country he is hiding in and has gained popularity there.
"The police force is a national security authority only. All that we can do is track his movements and await his return to the Kingdom in order to arrest him,” said Al-Qurashi.
