Ex-Citi bankers charged under Singapore's Computer Misuse Act

Ex-Citi bankers charged under Singapore's Computer Misuse Act

Seven former Citibank staff are facing over 1000 charges under Singapore's Computer Misuse Act and bank secrecy laws over client details allegedly stolen from the US bank and passed on to rival firm UBS.

According to a Financial Times report, the group of private bankers face a total of 1223 charges for allegedly accessing Citibank's computer network without authority and downloading or printing client data.

The data was taken before all seven left Citi to join rival bank UBS in 2006.

A police spokeswoman told local media the charges could carry fines of over S$125,000 and up to 20 years in prison.

The charges were filed after Singapore police completed a year-long investigation into the incident. The police investigation began after Citibank filed a lawsuit against six of the accused in 2006. The lawsuit was settled out of court last year.

It is thought this is the first case where Singapore authorities have used the Computer Misuse Act and banking laws to prosecute the theft of customer information.

The group have been granted bail ahead of a pre-trial session.

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