bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

JULIE CHU

A former bank manager said she was so sorry to see her clients lose money on their investments that she moved more than HK$28 million from other people's accounts in 2009 to compensate those who lost money, a court heard yesterday.
Helen Chow Hoi-ching, 39, initially covered up the shortfall out of her own pocket because the clients had been guaranteed returns from some of their investments at the Royal Bank of Scotland, defence lawyers said, without revealing the extent of her alleged payments.
Chow, a senior relationship manager, hoped the stock market would improve and lead to a happy ending, the court heard. But when she could no longer afford it, she transferred money from other RBS accounts.
"Not one penny that she has taken was pocketed by her," defence barrister Graham Harris SC told the District Court.
Chow pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by making false transaction forms to mislead the bank into transferring money from four customers to 10 overseas clients between January and March 2009.
She also admitted changing the home address of one of the four and sending him a forged bank statement to hide her wrongdoing.
RBS has compensated in full the four customers whose accounts were mishandled, the court heard.
When the market collapsed during the global financial crisis in 2008, many clients suffered losses from their investments in financial products similar to the Lehman Brothers' minibonds, Harris said. Chow felt she had brought that unfortunate situation on some of them, he said.
Prosecutor Thomas Iu said that at the time of the offence, the bank received eight instructions to transfer HK$28.87 million from two personal accounts and one joint account to 10 overseas clients. One of the four complained on April 16, 2009, of an unauthorised transaction from the account, the court heard.
The bank conducted an inquiry and found the documents involved in the eight transactions were not signed by the account holders. All were handled and instructed by Chow.
She had also changed the mailing address of one of the account holders, preventing him from receiving genuine bank statements. She then sent a fake statement to the client who did not know his money was gone.
Judge Garry Tallentire adjourned Chow's sentencing to September 11.
 


RBS manager stole to help clients in trouble

Manager stole to help clients in trouble

News

Hong Kong

Banker transferred HK$28m of other people's cash to her customers overseas


RBS manager stole to help clients in trouble

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Banker transferred HK$28m of other people's cash to her customers overseas

Banker transferred HK$28m of other people's cash to her customers overseas