Klang MP Charles Santiago, who spoke at a press conference in the presence of five of the victims, said it has been six months since complaints were lodged with the bank, police and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) but there has been no response to date.

“The bank’s deafening silence has led to more questions from the victims,” he said.

“We demand that the bank returns the money lost by these victims, together with compensation for the emotional distress they are undergoing after having lost all their savings,” he said.

He also urged BNM not to ignore this matter since it is the custodian of the country’s banking system.

“We learned how these transactions were done without the knowledge of the account holders. This clearly shows that the checks and balances are not there,” he said, adding that the victims would be taking legal action against the bank.

One of the victims, a senior citizen who has been a customer of the bank since 1968, said that he lost RM1.3 million worth of savings in cash, and RM3 million in investments in forex and Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB).

He said whenever he went to the bank to ask for his ASNB interest, he would be told by the bank officer that it had not been wired into his account, asking him to come back another time.

He discovered that he was defrauded in January when he was told by another bank officer that he had nothing in his savings.

“I was shocked because I had never touched my savings at all. I lodged reports with the bank, the police and BNM immediately,” he said.

Another victim, who is a retiree, lost RM1.16 million of her savings to the bank officer who allegedly took out her savings periodically and transferred it to another party without her knowledge.

She also alleged that she spotted the bank officer a few times and wondered why no action had been taken against him till now.

FMT has reached out to the bank for comment.