In 2011, the “Tribune de Genève” revealed that an accountant from a local private bank had been arrested for stealing 1.2 million francs from the establishment. According to our information, this woman, who had been dismissed at the time, plunged back into a scam in 2015 before skidding one last time, in 2017 and 2018, with a new employer, by hijacking 123,000 francs.
These new elements are now summarized in an indictment issued this winter. In detention since last year, this woman will be tried for all of these facts during the spring before the Criminal Court. She will face more than 20 people who have lost feathers as a result of her actions.
The partner and his wife
At the time of her first arrest, in 2011, the lady admitted to having “withdrawn” monthly, since 2007, between 10,000 and 20,000 francs for months from the account of one of the bank’s associates and his wife. Which obviously didn’t notice anything for almost three years.
It is the same for the many cheated customers: “In view of her long experience in the bank, the bond of trust she had been able to build with the hierarchy and her knowledge, in addition to the shortcomings of the internal audit system , wealth and habits of customers, she bet on a lack of control on the part of customers and his employer. ”
This person explains that after the death of her father in 2006, she felt a deep bad feeling of life which resulted in the need to make purchases of all kinds. That’s why she started taking money. Part of the money was spent on shoes, clothes, travel and various charms.
How did she do it? An example cited at the time by the defendant: each month, she received payment slips linked to the credit card from the wife of one of the bankers. The accountant replaced hers and then debited the wife’s account.
As for her ex-boss, she did not hesitate to scan her signature and produce false receipts “by which the man apparently confirmed the receipt of the sums of money that she had fraudulently appropriated” . It will therefore also be judged for false in the titles.
According to requisitions, she sometimes had to pay customers money into their credit card accounts. Instead, she transferred the funds to accounts that she herself held. “When the institutes that issued the credit cards reported non-payment, within the time allowed, the defendant paid by a second transfer, debited from the customer’s account, the amount claimed,” wrote the prosecutor.
It was a way of camouflaging the fraudulent acts, the prosecution noted in essence, finding that the accused had obtained illegitimate enrichment and committed a scam by profession.
Anti-money laundering office
We do not know how long this ride would have continued. But in 2010, the Credit Institute found the large sums paid by the defendant strange. He reported these movements to the Money Laundering Communication Office (MROS), which, in turn, alerted the Geneva Prosecutor’s Office. It was thanks to his phone calls to the bank that the rose pot was discovered.
In 2015, well after her first arrest, the accused was allegedly involved in a business selling electronic products. Customers’ money was paid into their bank accounts. She took a commission in passing and paid the rest to two individuals not identified by the justice system who lived in Benin. Many customers have never received the items ordered.
For these facts, she is accused of complicity in fraud and money laundering. Finally, in 2017, she was hired as an accounting secretary in an industrial supplies company in Vernier. In particular, she had the task of making the company pay the bills: “The managing partner, who trusted him completely, after a few weeks had given up random checks on the payments made by the accused, notes the indictment. She bet on this confidence and on the lack of control. “Result: she finds herself accused of having pocketed 123,000 francs, a sum of which the business which has now disappeared” found itself impoverished “, concludes the indictment.
“She does not generally dispute”
Me Thomas Barth, lawyer for the accused, contacted by us, indicates that his client “does not generally dispute the facts alleged against him and reserves his arguments for the court”. He “criticizes, however, the far too long preventive detention suffered, even though it was just recovering from a very serious health problem”.
Lawyer for the bank, Alexander Troller notes that the establishment “has fully reimbursed the few customers whose accounts have been affected by these embezzlement. The other charges against the accused by subsequent employers confirm as necessary her astute criminal energy. “
Created: 04.02.2020, 07h00
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