Bad cheque scam could cost Scotia $1.5 million

It’s a scandal that has rocked the Belizean banking industry to the core: a sophisticated ring of thieves that forged cheques to embezzle huge sums of cash from unsuspecting Bank of Nova Scotia customers. Weeks into the police investigation, no one has been arrested. But according to reliable sources, the ongoing joint team of bank officials and cops has discovered that as much as one point five million Belize dollars was stolen from accounts belonging to a number of Belize City businesses, as well as the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. News 5 also understands that since this story broke, at least one manager and three other bank employees are no longer working with the financial institution. When News 5 contacted Scotia Bank country manager, Pat Andrews, he declined to comment on the status or findings of the investigation. Andrews did, however, confirm that the manager named by our sources had retired from the bank, although when we called the manager at home, he told us he was on vacation. While the bank tries to get its story straight, according to police investigators, the person who was pulling the purse strings in this elaborate heist was a man who called himself Tarak Aziz. Aziz, described only as a white American, has yet to be found for questioning, but he has been tied to two businesses, Bustich and Imperium International, into whose accounts the stolen money was transferred. Two women who were working for Aziz, have denied knowledge of his criminal behaviour and claim the money they deposited into the companies’ accounts, though sizable, did not trigger any alarm bells. As for who is responsible for the missing money, financial sources tell News 5 that since the bank cashed the high value forged cheques without so much as a phone call of confirmation, it is the bank that will make good the losses to its customers.