A Lebanese cashier at the Batroun branch of Byblos Bank has defrauded depositors of more than $4 million and fled the country with her husband and three children, reported the Daily Star newspaper.
Some of the victims were elderly depositors, who were unfamiliar with banking procedures and had empowered the employee to handle their accounts, said Youssef Salloum, a customer at the bank.
His grandmother, Genevieve Salloum, was stripped of LL40 million, roughly $27,000, leaving in her account a mere LL1 million, he told The Daily Star.
The grandmother went to the bank earlier this week to draw money, only to discover an unauthorized transfer out of her account to an unknown destination had been made. The bank was still trying to find out where the money was destined.
Police investigators told the depositors that the employee, who they identified as Mona Hannoush Hilmi, left with her family for Brazil this weekend.
“My grandmother can’t read or write and she depended on Mona Hannoush to do her transactions for her,” Salloum said.
Another depositor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said more than $200,000 was taken out of his account in the form of a banker’s check carrying a forged signature in his name.
Several Batroun residents said they were surprised by the woman’s action, noting that the Hilmis did not appear to be short on cash.
“He owns a cafe in Batroun, and she has a chocolate and silver shop called Bonbon et Maison,” one resident said.
Employees at Byblos Bank in Batroun declined all comment on the incident, referring callers to the headquarters in Beirut. However, repeated attempts to reach officials at the main offices went unanswered.
A banking source said a similar incident had taken place at a Batroun branch of another bank two months ago, but that involved only $300,000 channeled out of depositors accounts, according to the paper – Albawaba.com
