Suspicious fraudulent activity at Nouvobanq under investigation |20 May 2023

The press onference

•           No customer account affected and no staff arrested

Nouvobanq has stated that none of its clients’ accounts has been affected directly in a suspicious fraudulent activity presently under investigation at the bank and no staff has been arrested in relation to the case.

The bank’s chief executive, Christophe Edmond, made the statement during a press conference yesterday morning at the Nouvobanq headquarters in Victoria, when giving details about an investigation that is under way by the bank regarding a fraudulent case that involves crypto currency between several parties based internationally and locally, where Nouvobanq was the targeted bank. 

The investigation is being done with the assistance of the Financial Crime Investigation Unit (FCIU) within the Seychelles Police Force and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

CEO Edmond explained that for the moment, no client has been affected directly and he reassured clients that their bank accounts are in order. “There is nothing to worry about,” he stated.

The CEO wanted to make it clear that none of the bank’s staff has been arrested contrary to the online social media rumours. “No staff is involved in the case.”

Regarding whether or not there have been any suspects apprehended, CEO Edmond stated that this information will have to be given by the police.

“On our side, they will not share that information on who got arrested due to their investigation,” he stated.

Due to the ongoing investigation, Nouvobanq could not divulge a lot of information on how exactly the fraud took place. However, Mr Edmond explained the logistics behind why it was a fraud.

“A fraud is when you receive money illegally or you do illegal transactions and you use money that is not yours.”

CEO Edmond stated that where someone has access to a person’s debit or credit card details, they could purchase cryptocurrency online. However, those involved in the fraud received the money by nefarious means. “We do not know what type of cryptocurrency is currently involved,” he stated.

He went on to explain that attempts at fraud is something that is happening constantly and the majority is dealt with early. “We can block certain transactions to prevent it from happening and we have blocked usage of purchasing digital currency on some of the crypto sites,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nouvobanq said it will be reinforcing its control, way of monitoring, compliance and safety measures to ensure such incident is not repeated.

“All the transactions that clients do will not be under any risk.”

Mr Edmond said Nouvobanq is constantly vigilant regarding these things but unfortunately, fraudsters are occasionally one step ahead when it comes to tricking the system.

He has advised the public to refrain from providing their credit card details to anyone on social media or via text messages. “When you are giving your account details, you are putting yourself at risk. When people get your card numbers, expiry date and things like that, they can use that information to take money from you.”

Nouvobanq currently has a zero cryptocurrency policy and does not accept any purchases or transactions regarding crypto.

A cryptocurrency is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. For now in Seychelles, there are no laws or regulations on how to manage crypto currency.

Also present at yesterday’s press conference was the Head of Compliance, Sandra Hall; Chief Risk Officer, Joelle Isaac and deputy CEO, Philippe Pierre.

Sunny Esparon