A former director of financial services at a branch of Bank of Montreal has been arrested for defrauding nearly $9 million over the course of a nine year period.
Bassam Salman was arrested on June 21 in Longueuil. The BoM filed a complaint in 2013 with the financial fraud unit of the SPVM. Police said the investigation into the fraud, which took place between 2004 and 2012 was “long and complex” and that the alleged scheme was “one of the largest frauds ever committed in Quebec.”
Salman allegedly committed the fraud by “appropriating part of the payments received by his employer,” and by forging documents without the knowledge of any of his victims.
An internal investigation launched by BoM after Salman left his job in 2012, after which the complain with the SPVM was filed.
So far, three victims have been identified, though the bank has since repaid their losses.
