The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have pressed charges against an employee of the Ottawa branch of the Royal Bank of Canada for allegedly unlawfully accessing the banking profiles of Prime Minister Mark Carney and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in connection with a criminal scheme.
23-year-old Ibrahim El-Hakim has been charged with fraud exceeding $5,000, unauthorized use of a computer, identity theft, and trafficking in identity information, as confirmed by the RCMP on Wednesday.
El-Hakim, who joined RBC in 2022 and worked near Parliament Hill, reportedly misused the bank’s IT services for illicit activities, which included unauthorized entry into various banking profiles and fraudulent actions, as per an affidavit filed to preserve computer data during the investigation.
Footage captured much of El-Hakim’s activities, and he confessed to the charges during an internal security interview at RBC.
The affidavit revealed that El-Hakim was enticed into the criminal plot by an individual using the alias “AI WORLD” on Telegram, a social media platform, with police suspecting ties to organized crime.
According to the document, El-Hakim informed the bank that he was fabricating false bank accounts and securing lines of credit as per the Telegram user’s instructions. The affidavit also indicated that he accessed the profiles of Carney and Trudeau on June 17 at the user’s behest.
El-Hakim claimed to have received $500 for each task completed, totaling around $5,000. He was apprehended by the RCMP on July 10 and subsequently released on conditions pending his court appearance next week.
The RCMP assured that there were no threats to the safety of the prime minister or national security. RBC’s spokesperson, Cheryl Brean, stated that El-Hakim is no longer an employee of the bank and emphasized RBC’s cooperation with the authorities throughout the investigation.