Three persons are in police custody as investigations into the $69M fraud committed on an account at the New Building Society (NBS) continue.
The three individuals whose names have come up before both at the level of the society’s board and in documents which this newspaper has seen in relation to the fraud, were picked up by the police on Friday and up to press time yesterday remained in custody.
It is not clear whether the men will face charges and a police source told Stabroek News that at the moment they were just being questioned.
The investigations are being handled from police headquarters at Eve Leary, this newspaper was told.
At a special general meeting on September 8 Chairman of the Board Moen McDoom explained the events leading up to $69M in unlawful withdrawals being made from the account of Bibi Shamila Khan.
Revealing the findings of an internal investigation McDoom recounted that these had established that over a period of five weeks, a person giving his name as Compton Chase had been able to undertake on four separate occasions several transactions using a fake power of attorney. McDoom stated that Chase had effected the transactions without presenting a passbook, in contravention of the Society’s rules which require that an account holder must be in possession of a passbook to make a withdrawal, and that if the same has been lost, prior notice must be given in writing and an indemnity form completed and submitted for a replacement.
The services of three senior managers Maurice Arjoon (Chief Executive Officer, Director/ Secretary), Kent Vincent (Operations Manager), and Kisson Baldeo (Assistant Mortgage Manager) were terminated for negligence and gross misconduct following the discovery of the fraud.
The three are also facing charges of conspiracy to defraud the NBS of $69M.