The Commonwealth Bank has come under fire after having failed to alert police of fraud allegations involving members of staff, despite management’s awareness since February 2007.
Those alleged to be behind the $76 million scam are professional poker player Bill Jordanou and accountant Robert Zaia.
According to a report by Fairfax Media, the staff were allegedly complicit in a Ponzi scheme and received commissions for their involvement, all of which was ignored by the bank for some five years.
Mr Jordanou and Mr Zaia are accused of borrowing millions of dollars, siphoned from client’s accounts without their knowledge or consent, and used for a number of property developments, which never eventuated.
A victim of the alleged fraud is Melbourne property developer Nick Fotopoulos, who has decided to take civil action against the bank after losing more than $5 million.
While the bank refused to explain why it didn’t alert police earlier of suspicions, a CBA spokesperson did state the “CBA has zero tolerance to bribery, corruption and facilitation payments across the business and will continue to cooperate with the police and the legal process as this complicated issue unfolds in the courts”.
Mr Jordanou and Mr Zaia are expected to face court in February 2017, the pair likely to plead not guilty to almost 100 fraud and deception offences.