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Citibank manager has testified at the trial of the bank’s former senior employee Malinda Dee, saying that the bank’s internal audit system should not be blamed for the loss of customers’ funds.

Citibank’s investigative manager Espandiary Akbar said that the bank’s management had not been aware of the fraud because those customers whose money was siphoned off by Malinda, did not file complaints about irregularities. “Because the customers did not complain, we didn’t know [that the embezzlement had taken place],” Espandiary told the court.

He was responding to an accusation from one of Malinda’s lawyers who blamed the bank’s weak internal oversight for the fraud.

“We have always undertaken regular internal audits [on clients’ accounts]. After our reports were completed, we sent them directly to the clients, but we never received any complaints,” he said.

Espandiary said that Malinda could only have stolen more than Rp 44 billion (US$4.93 million) from the bank’s premium clients with the cooperation of a bank teller, identified as D.H. It was the two of them together who violated regular banking procedures at the bank.

He said that Malinda and D.H. processed more 117 illegal transactions. “Of the 117 transactions, 91 were processed through D.H.,” he said.

The senior Citibank employee also said that 90 percent of the embezzled money had been returned to its owners.

Prosecutors in the case, who are seeking 15 years’ imprisonment for Malinda, said in its indictment that the she received the money from 117 illegal transactions, 64 of which were processed in local currency and 53 in US dollars.

In the indictment, prosecutors also alleged that Malinda processed numerous unauthorized transactions on behalf of Citigold clients and transferred the funds from these transactions to accounts controlled by her sister, Visca Lovitasari, and one of her in-laws, Ismail bin Janim.

Malinda allegedly persuaded her clients to sign blank forms upon which she would later write down the amount of money to be transferred and the details of the receiving account.

Citibank vice president Meilana Sutikno, who also testified at the trial, said that the transfer of funds would not have been possible without the assistance of a bank teller. “Malinda had no authority to conduct transfers. Only a teller could carry them out,” she said.