The RCMP has charged an Ottawa Royal Bank of Canada employee after he allegedly accessed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s banking profile as part of a criminal plot.
The Mounties confirmed Wednesday they charged Ibrahim El-Hakim, 23, with fraud over $5,000, unauthorized use of a computer, identity theft and trafficking in identity information.
Court documents show that El-Hakim also accessed a banking profile for a Justin Trudeau. The RCMP later confirmed it was not the profile of the former prime minister.
The story was first reported by the Journal de Montréal and La Presse.
According to an affidavit filed to request that computer data be preserved as part of the investigation, El-Hakim — who was hired by RBC in 2022 and worked at the branch not far from Parliament Hill — allegedly used the bank’s information technology services for criminal purposes, including unauthorized access to multiple banking profiles and fraud.
The document shows El-Hakim’s actions were largely caught on video and he admitted to the allegations in an interview with RBC’s internal security.
Approached online
El-Hakim said he had been lured into the scheme by a person who went by “AI WORLD” on the social media platform Telegram, according to the affidavit signed by a police officer.
The affidavit, seen by CBC/Radio-Canada, suggests the investigators believe the account is linked to organized crime.
El-Hakim told the bank he was creating fake bank profiles and obtaining lines of credit at the request of the person he was talking to on Telegram, the court document shows.
The affidavit said the accused also looked at banking profiles at the account’s request. It shows he accessed the Carney and Trudeau profiles on June 17.
An RBC employee has been charged after allegedly accessing the banking information of Prime Minister Mark Carney and someone with the same name as former prime minister Justin Trudeau. The incident is raising concerns about security and privacy at Canada’s big banks.
El-Hakim said he received $500 each time he completed a request, earning a total of about $5,000.
The RCMP arrested the RBC employee on July 10 and released him under conditions. El-Hakim is expected to appear in court next week.
The RCMP said it does not believe there was a risk to the prime minister’s safety or to national security.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
A spokesperson for RBC said El-Hakim is no longer employed at the bank.
“We worked closely with law enforcement to support their investigation,” said spokesperson Cheryl Brean.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he couldn’t comment on the details of the case but said the story reinforces the need for strong privacy procedures in Canada’s banking system.
“It just reminds everyone that privacy and having systems to prevent fraudulent access to anyone’s file is something we should all be concerned about,” he said Wednesday.
