On 21 January, it became known that a temporary worker in Sparebank 1 SMN has been charged with gross embezzlement and money laundering. The man in his 20s has embezzled just under NOK 75 million. The estimated loss for the victim should be approximately NOK 50 million. This is revealed in a press release from the police on Thursday. Exploited access The police investigate the case fully and receive assistance from, among others, Økokrim to track and secure valuables abroad. – The charge relates to gross embezzlement of just under NOK 75 million, and gross money laundering of the proceeds, says Ole Andreas Aftret, prosecuting officer in the case at Trøndelag police district. Ole Andreas Aftret in Trøndelag police district. Photo: Karianne Breivik Eldnes / news In general, the embezzlement must have been carried out by the accused using their access to the bank’s systems to embezzle the bank’s funds. Transfers must then be made to bank accounts in other banks in Norway and further out of the country. The police have obtained documentation from these banks as part of the investigation. – Beyond this, we do not want to go into more detail about the procedure for the sake of the investigation, says Aftret. 15 million secured Defense attorney Christian Wiig writes to news that his client sat in for a new hearing on Wednesday. Through the investigation, the police believe they have accounted for the amount that has been embezzled. Here is an overview of the amounts of money as of now: An amount was returned to Sparebank1 SMN before the arrest, which means that the net amount from the bank is in excess of NOK 66 million. The police have secured a little over NOK 15 million in total. Sparebank1 SMN writes in a press release that the accused has been hired as a temporary worker at the head office in Trondheim since 2020. – Wild speculation Routine checks were carried out in connection with the employment. – The bank is affected by serious financial crime. In addition, a serious breach of trust is experienced, through the fact that the accused has abused their access to systems for their own gain and, in addition, manipulated our control functions. That’s according to executive director Rolf Jarle Brøske at SpareBank 1 SMN. Executive director Rolf Jarle Brøske states that the temporary worker has been employed since 2020. Photo: Lena Erikke Hatland – For the past two weeks, the bank has worked closely with the police to contribute to the investigation and secure as much of the funds as possible. Unfortunately, we have to state that a large part of the money that has been embezzled has been lost after what appears to be wild speculation abroad, says Brøske. SpareBank 1 SMN has insurance that covers financial crime, including embezzlement. The insurance has a deductible of NOK 5 million. – We have now established a good overview of the sequence of events, and have implemented several immediate measures. In addition, the bank is undertaking extensive work to assess further measures. We also have a good dialogue with Finanstilsynet, says Brøske. Just over a month Vikaren was arrested on Thursday 19 January. The bank then confirmed that the amount could be up to several tens of millions of kroner, but that no customers are affected. The accused’s defense attorney told news that the fraud must have been going on for just over a month. He has always pleaded guilty. Last week it became known that a two-digit million sum had been seized from a Swedish account belonging to the man.
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Vikar allegedly defrauded Sparebank1 SMN in Trondheim for almost NOK 75 million – news Trøndelag
