UTTARADIT: Bangkok Bank on Wednesday returned to three customers about of 1.7 million baht in total, plus interest, stolen by an employee at a branch office to pay online gambling debts.
The three victims earlier filed complaints with Pol Col Ditsayadet Pattarapuwadol, chief of Muang district police, stating that more than 1.7 million baht in total was missing from their bank accounts, and asked police to investigate.
Jeerawat Trakulsawang, manager of the bank's Boromma-at branch, said on Wednesday that an internal bank investigation found that a female employee had withdrawn money from the three customers' accounts about three months ago.
It then sent letters notifying the three customers what had occurred and sent staff to their homes to talk with them. The bank told them it accepted responsibility and would repay the money plus interest, but it needed three months to wrap up the investigation, Mr Jeerawat said.
He had notified the bank's head office, which launched a fact-finding investigation into the matter. The inquiry found that the accused staffer had withdrawn money from the customers’ accounts. It was not the customers themselves who had discovered their money had been stolen.
“The bank has followed the money trail and found the money was transferred to an account held in a man's name. Money had been transferred to this account from many areas around the country.
"More than 60 million baht was circulating through the man’s account. The bank alerted the Anti-Money Laundering Office, which investigated and later confiscated the man’s account.
“An initial investigation found the money transfers were for online gambling. Now, the bank has repaid the money to the three customers and will take legal action against the female employee,’’ Mr Jeerawat said.
