An employee of Canada’s largest bank accused of viewing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s personal accounts without approval has been charged with fraud, federal police told AFP on Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the 23-year-old suspect from Ottawa was also charged with unauthorized use of a computer and identity theft, among other offenses, after the Royal Bank of Canada raised alarm about suspicious conduct.
The suspect “allegedly consulted the personal data of Prime Minister Mark Carney,” RCMP spokesperson Erique Gasse said in an email.
The investigation so far does not point toward a risk to national security or to Carney’s personal safety, Gasse said.
RBC spokesperson Cheryl Brean told AFP that the bank “took immediate action” once the suspicious conduct was identified and “the individual… is no longer employed at the bank.”
Carney made a fortune in the early part of his career as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, and later served as chairman of the multinational corporation Brookfield before entering politics in January.
He resisted repeated calls from the opposition during this year’s election campaign to disclose his personal holdings.
The prime minister — who also headed the central banks of Canada and Britain — said he had put all his assets in a blind trust, complying with Canadian ethics rules.
gen-bs/iv/md
