CNB Employee Detained for Theft of Tens of Millions from Brno Branch
Police have detained an employee of the Czech National Bank suspected of stealing tens of millions of crowns. The bank board has ordered an extraordinary audit.
Central Bank Employee Accused of Theft of Tens of Millions of Crowns
Police on Thursday detained an employee of the Czech National Bank (CNB) suspected of repeatedly stealing financial assets from the bank's Brno branch. The damage amounts to tens of millions of crowns, according to police spokesperson Pavel Šváb on Friday. ČT24 described the case as one of the largest internal security incidents at the bank in recent times.
The Financial Analytical Office alerted police to suspicious transactions approximately two months ago. "Thanks to extraordinary cooperation with the bank, it was possible to demonstrate to the suspect that by circumventing internal rules he was embezzling financial assets from the bank," Šváb stated.
During the detention, investigators carried out one house search and three searches of non-residential premises. The recovery of embezzled funds is still ongoing, according to Šváb. The detained man had worked in the banking sector for a long time and is cooperating with the investigation. The case is being supervised by the Regional State Prosecutor's Office in Brno, and the investigator intends to propose detention.
ČT reporter Veronika Nováková clarified that the manner in which the employee circumvented internal rules remains unknown — police have not released more detailed information.
The CNB, through Jakub Holas, director of the communications department, assured that the case has no impact on its normal operations or fulfilment of statutory duties. "The Czech National Bank has simultaneously taken measures to protect its assets. The bank board also decided to initiate an extraordinary internal audit, the objective of which is to investigate all circumstances of the case and assess the effectiveness of the established control mechanisms," Holas said.
Petr Bartoň, chief economist at Natland, pointed out that money today exists predominantly in accounting form. Whilst the CNB issues banknotes, physical cash at branches is minimal. "So almost certainly in our world, where money exists in the form of some booking in accounts, some manipulation occurred there," Bartoň said, adding that the individual in question apparently arranged for funds to be transferred from the central bank's accounts to his own account. "That should be very difficult, but evidently he apparently managed to find some loophole," he added — and emphasised that this remains speculation.
Source: ČT24