BY ROMINAH FAKA
The case against a former BSP teller was administratively adjourned yesterday because the presiding magistrate was away at the High Court.
The matter returns to court on April 3 for oral submission and mitigation submissions from the counsels, and for the summary of agreed facts to be presented to the court.
Bail for the accused was extended.
The accused, Tessa Solenone Rore, pleaded guilty in the previous hearing to two counts of larceny by servant and one count of forgery of certain documents with intention to defraud.
Allegations had said Rore was employed as a Money Gram Teller at the Bank of South Pacific Limited (BSP), Central Honiara branch, starting from April 16, 2015.
Allegations against the accused arose when BSP customers made an enquiry to the bank about suspicious withdrawals and deposits in their personal bank accounts in 2020.
The accused was removed from the till and the BSP Operational Risk Unit conducted an internal assessment.
It was discovered that the shortage amount from the till was around $400,000.
The accused took out money from the till or drawer, which resulted in cash shortages and she would do withdrawals from customers’ accounts to balance the till at the end of each business day.
Prosecution said the next business day, she would deposit the money back to the customer’s accounts from the till.
The accused had committed these fraudulent transactions on 40 customers’ accounts since April 2020.
According to the investigation report, the total amount the accused stole from the till is about $500,000.
In August 2020, the accused was officially terminated from her employment.
Jonathan Auga of DPP Office act for the State and Emy Rusi of PSO act for the Accused.
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