Croatian ex‑bank director and accomplices charged in multi‑million euro fraud

The State Attorney's Office in Varaždin indicted a former bank branch director, a former personal banker and a 56‑year‑old man for a scheme that defrauded customers of more than €1.8 million and caused the bank losses of over €1 million. The suspects are accused of abusing trust, forging documents, committing fraud and money‑laundering between October and December 2023, offering non‑existent term‑deposit contracts and diverting cash to their own accounts.

Investigators say the crimes continued until June 2024, with the accused repeatedly misrepresenting their authority to obtain cash from investors, creating false deposit contracts and using new investors’ money to pay earlier victims. The alleged illicit gains total at least €2.97 million for the former director and €1.81 million for the personal banker, while the third defendant is linked to money‑laundering of €1.01 million. The indictment seeks confiscation of proceeds and extension of protective measures on the accused’s assets.