Former bank branch manager in Lanzarote to be tried for defrauding a relative of 213,000 euros

The Public Prosecutor's Office states that to make these withdrawals of money, he used the signature of his relative, who had authorized him to invest in financial products

April 24 2025 (10:34 WEST)
Updated in April 25 2025 (07:04 WEST)
Courthouse facade in Arrecife. Photo: José Luis Carrasco. Employment.

The First Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas will try on April 30 in Gran Canaria a former manager of a bank branch in Lanzarote accused of deceiving and defrauding a relative of 213,000 euros.

According to the Prosecutor's Office's indictment, the events date back to several months of 2008, when M.A.A.L. was the manager of a branch of the Caja General de Ahorros de Canarias in Arrecife, which later became Banca Cívica and is currently CaixaBank.

At that time, allegedly "with the clear intention of obtaining enrichment" at the expense of his relative and without his consent, he withdrew 93,000 euros in cash, then 75,000 and finally 45,000, finally reaching the 213,000 euros allegedly defrauded. 

The Public Prosecutor's Office states that to make these withdrawals of money, he used the signature of his relative, who had authorized him to invest in conservative financial products. At that time, the owner of the accounts had not noticed that this money was missing, until years later. 

The Public Prosecutor's Office states that M.A.A.L. presented, "with full knowledge of its falsity," up to three sealed documents or "in the format of the banking entity," in which he included three accounts in the name of the victim with hundreds of thousands of euros.

Thus, he classifies these acts as a continued crime of fraud and another of forgery in a private document. The Prosecutor's Office requests five years in prison, with special disqualification for the exercise of the right to passive suffrage during the term of the sentence and a penalty of 12 months fine with a daily fee of 12 euros. It also requests that he compensate his relative with the 213,000 euros allegedly defrauded. 

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