Former bank employee charged with misappropriating over €76,000 from elderly client

A former Bank of Valletta employee has pleaded not guilty to misappropriating over €76,000 from an elderly client.

Christine Azzopardi, born in Canada and living in Birkirkara, was arraigned via summons on Friday afternoon.

The 35-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, misappropriation, fraud, falsification of documents and unauthorised use of bank computer systems.

Police inspector testimony

The case was assigned on 12 June 2025, following a complaint by professor Stefano Filletti, the lawyer appearing for BOV. The court heard the complaint referred to an internal investigation at Bank of Valletta into a series of suspicious transactions involving the funds of an 87-year-old victim.

According to the prosecution, the bank concluded from its internal inquiries that the accused, who had been employed by the bank, had transferred funds belonging to the victim into accounts connected to herself and others.

The accused had access to the bank’s internal systems.

The court was told the allegedly misappropriated sum amounted to €76,376.68 as concluded by a financial analysis based on bank statements.

According to testimony, the alleged scheme involved transfers from the victim’s account to the accused’s own bank account, as well as to accounts held by her sister and her husband. The court heard more than €30,000 was allegedly transferred to the accused’s personal account, over €27,000 was allegedly channelled to her sister’s account.

The prosecution alleged the money was moved from one account to another in order to make tracing more difficult and to disguise its origin, describing this as part of the alleged money laundering method.

The witness said that, according to the bank’s investigation, the accused had abused the bank’s system and her position within it.

The internal audit uncovered other irregular activity beyond simple transfers. The court heard evidence of cash withdrawals cheques, transaction vouchers, use and issuance of credit card and changes to client details on the bank’s system.

One of the alleged methods described in court involved transaction vouchers. According to the prosecution, when the victim went to withdraw small amounts of money, she would allegedly be given that amount in cash but the voucher she was made to sign reflected a larger amount.

The court also heard the victim’s bank statements were allegedly altered so that they would no longer be sent by post and would instead only be accessible through internet banking. The mobile number linked to victim’s banking details was also allegedly changed and replaced with the accused’s own number.

Victim told relatives that Azzopardi ‘helps her’

Jacqueline Tanti Dougall, the victim’s niece, also testified. She told the court that her aunt had trusted Christine Azzopardi completely and often spoke highly of her, telling relatives that if they needed anything at the bank they should go to Christine because “she helps you”. Tanti Dougall said that her aunt “swore by the woman”.

Tanti Dougall explained that the victim entered an old people’s home in 2021, and that she later needed €5,000 for expenses connected with her care. She went with her aunt to the BOV branch in Lija to withdraw the money but was informed by a bank employee that the account did not contain €5,000 and that only around €900 remained.

Shocked by this, she said she asked herself how that could be possible. She testified that her aunt had only one bank account, never spent anything and received around €100 pension per month into the account. She said that even on a simple calculation, the money that should have remained was far greater than the balance disclosed to them.

Once she received account statements, she said she noticed multiple withdrawals and began comparing signatures, concluding that certain signatures did not appear to be her aunt’s.

She even contacted the Central Bank to see whether her aunt had any investments or additional funds elsewhere, but no further funds were found.

She told the court Bank of Valletta later discussed the matter with her and indicated that attempts were being made to reach an agreement and reimburse the money.

Accused admitted unauthorised transactions to bank officials

Another Bank of Valletta representative testified that the accused had been called in by the internal audit department. The court heard that on 16 May 2025, she had initially not attended because she had called in sick, but was spoken to a day after to by bank officials.

According to this witness, the accused admitted carrying out certain unauthorised transactions, although she allegedly said she was not aware of the full volume involved. The court heard that the bank then proceeded with steps to suspend her.

In September 2025, she had been informed of her rights and assisted by a lawyer. She had also been granted police bail while other investigations were still pending.

This witness also testified that there had been approximately 170 withdrawals and transfers from the victim’s bank account to several other accounts. Of these, around €33,000 was allegedly moved through internet banking, while about €18,000 spread across approximately 30 transactions was allegedly transferred to her sister and husband and around €22,000 was withdrawn in cash.

The victim was also spoken to by police in the presence of her niece. The court was told that the victim explained she had first met Azzopardi at the bank and had come to trust her deeply. Whenever she went to the bank, she would allegedly seek out Azzopardi, who had presented herself as someone who would help her.

The victim told investigators she never suspected Azzopardi and had taken what happened very badly because she did not understand why someone she trusted would treat her that way.

The court heard she had always been prudent with money, saved carefully for emergencies, and did not have extravagant expenses. She denied ever withdrawing large sums. She also denied ever instructing the bank to stop sending her letters by post, insisting that there had been no reason for her to do so.

A freezing order was issued by the court for the amount of €76,376.

The prosecution was led by lawyers Michael Muscat and Alessia Schembri on behalf of the Attorney General.

Lawyer Matthew Xuereb and Micheal Tanti Dougall appeared for the parte civile, representing the alleged victim. Defence lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar appeared for the accused.

Lawyers Stefano Filletti and Stefan Grima appeared for BOV.

The case is being heard before Magistrate Leonard Caruana. The case will continue on 8 May.

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