Bristol bank theft 'was inside job'
Mustapha Al-Jibouri, company director of Bristol-based Silk Line Trading, told Bristol Crown Court yesterday he was alarmed when he realised the money had vanished and he hadn't given anyone access to it.
It is claimed Rangarirai Maramba, an HSBC employee based at its Broadmead branch, knew Rabie Edukali, who was a friend of Mr Al-Jibouri.
The Crown says Edukali obtained Mr Al-Jibouri's pin number, and Maramba helped him acquire a debit card which was used to drain the businessman's cash.
The cash was siphoned from the account in a large number of euro withdrawals across the UK, of sums between £4,000 to £6,000, as well as a larger internet transaction, the court heard.
Maramba, 31, of Argyle Avenue, Weston-super-Mare, and Edukali, 30, of Cowper Road, Redland, deny conspiracy to steal between June and July last year.
A man called Sam Lofti El-Maghrebi has pleaded guilty to the charge. Eric Gracey, 47, of College Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, denies conspiracy to steal between May and September last year.
This offence relates to a similar scam to steal from HSBC bank and other financial institutions in Birmingham and is admitted by El-Maghrebi as well as Tarun Monga and John Nemr.
Mr Al-Jibouri told the jury he had a Premier Maestro debit with HSBC which he used for cash purchases and at cashpoint machines.
He said he didn't use the HSBC Broadmead branch, but did use the HSBC branches in Whiteladies Road and Westbury-on-Trym.
Mr Al-Jibouri said he didn't know Maramba, but he had known Edukali for some two years, having met him in a Bristol café frequented by the Arab community.
He said: "I trusted him. Through him I met Sami El-Maghrebi, who was into properties like me. He drove various cars and he gave the impression he was very successful; he tried to get me to buy a business from him."
Mr Al-Jibouri recalled one occasion when he picked up the tab for a café bill, using his debit card, when Edukali was sat next to him.
He said: "I had no reason to hide the pin, it didn't cross my mind. I had no reason to give him the pin or Mr El-Maghrebi."
Mr Al-Jibouri said both men had the appearance of successful business people, from their fashionable clothes to their plush homes.
The case continues.
