The Debrecen Tribunal sentenced two employees of the financial institution to five years and 3 years and 10 months in prison for embezzling more than 400 million forints in their own money, the court spokesman announced.
According to the announcement of Dénes Dobó, the two women confessed to committing the crime at the preparatory meeting and waived their right to a trial.
The trial court found the defendants guilty as accomplices, on an ongoing basis, of particularly high value, in a conspiracy, in the crime of business-like embezzlement, in the crime of money laundering on a business-like, particularly high-value basis, as an employee of a financial institution, and for using a false private document.
The first-degree defendant was sentenced to 5 years and the second-degree defendant to 3 years and 10 months in prison, and both were banned from practicing finance for 8 years. In addition, they were ordered to pay the amount claimed by the financial institution, almost HUF 398 million, as compensation.
From March 2007 to September 2017, the two women worked for more than 10 years in the same branch of a savings bank in Debrecen. The joint work continued in another branch of the savings bank from February to April 2018 until the branch was closed. For several periods, they worked in a two-person branch, their work was not directly controlled by a third person or senior manager.
All retail and corporate customers had access to accounts and financial transactions. The accounts were unlawfully withdrawn in various amounts, using unsigned or forged documents, without the knowledge and consent of the customers, in order to make regular profits.
From March 2012 to the end of May 2018, the first-degree defendant attributed a total of more than HUF 400 million to 31 retail and 21 corporate clients. Retail customers were injured by more than HUF 90 million and corporate customers by more than HUF 310 million.
In order to cover up the deficit, illegal transactions were made on the accounts of 52 customers – 31 retail and 21 corporate – with unauthorized transfers, amounting to more than HUF 864 million. The delivery addresses of the account statements were changed to their own place of residence as well as the electronic mail address they used.
Defendants took advantage of the fact that the bank branch was small, the financial institution was constantly transformed over the years, and control was deficient.
In view of the predominance of mitigating circumstances, the General Court imposed a lesser custodial sentence than in the prosecutor’s motion, especially in the light of the admission.
The verdict was not final, the prosecutor aggravated, while the defendants and their counsel appealed to mitigate the sentence.
Debrecen General Court
