By Nagra Plunkett, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
RBTT BANK Jamaica Limited, it now emerges, has been fleeced of some $23 million through the automated teller system, and the bank has officially broken silence, citing a glitch in the technology as the apparent cause of the problem.
Investigators have intensified their probe into the apparent islandwide scam, which a police source said has affected 'almost every parish where there are RBTT operations'.
The bank has branches in Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Ann, St. Catherine, St. Elizabeth, Man-chester, Clarendon, St. James, Westmoreland and Portland.
The case is now officially being handled by the Fraud Squad office in Kingston, and the police have detained 10 persons in connection. It is understood that all 10 are to be questioned in Kingston.
Joe Dasilva, the chief operating officer at RBTT, told The Gleaner yesterday that a breakdown in the computer system could be blamed for the irregularities.
"At this point we believe that it was a glitch in the computer system but I'm speculating here so we have to wait on the reports that will be produced following the investigations," he said. "Our audit people are investigating the matter. We will have a better handle on it in by the end of the week."
Mr. Dasilva noted that he did not know the exact sum of money that was missing but police investigators say so far it was estimated to be about $23 million.
The bank executive said RBTT was still getting reports from its various entities islandwide, and would be in a better position to know the extent of the problem when the information is collated. Other bank representatives say the unauthorised withdrawals were not confined to RBTT machines but was done at various ATMs on the MultiLink system.
The Fraud Squad began its investigations after it was reported to them that RBTT's Montego Bay branch was robbed of nearly $4 million by account holders in St. James. Reports are that the theft occurred between December 25 and December 26 last year by persons who used their RBTT debit cards to withdraw money through RBTT's ATM machines and the multi-link banking system.
