Almaty, 27 January 2021

On 26 January 2021, upon the Eurasian Bank’s request, the Zhitikara Town Court began reviewing the case of funds embezzlement by Mr. M. M. Shalbayev, the former Head of Outlet. He holds criminal liability with compensation for financial damages to the Bank. At the discovery of the theft, the Bank immediately compensated the depositors affected by Mr. Shalbayev’s actions for their savings with interest.

The depositors told the court that they have no claims against the Bank and continue to keep their funds there.

The Bank sees the reason for this incident in the human factor. For a long time, Mr. M. M. Shalbayev’s reputation was not in doubt. He carefully concealed his gambling addiction, an unacceptable tendency for a financial institution employee.

Among the three victims are elderly people who are not using the Smartbank mobile app, which was used by the former manager. Having entered the trust, he independently registered them in mobile banking and got access to the funds management.

Thanks to the professional actions of the Bank Security Service and the prompt assistance of the police, the attacker was detained on 21 November 2019, and the stolen funds were seized.

As a preventive measure, the Bank made additional adjustments to the information systems, and a set of measures was taken to minimize the human factor risk.

Eurasian Bank intends to openly and harshly prevent any criminal encroachments on the Bank customers’ funds and Bank facilities, ensuring the safety and return of its depositors’ savings in full.