Public announcement on the COPY note cheating case
08/Apr/2019
Dear ABA customers,
Please be informed that on April 6, Mr Peter Hofer, a Swiss national, claimed that he had received a $100 note with the word COPY (serial number HH 26841921 E) from the ATM located in ABA Central Market Branch.
Immediately after receiving the complaint, the relevant teams in the Bank conducted a thorough investigation. At first, our records of the cash sorting machine showed no trace of the note with the serial number reported by customer in ABA cash system. In addition, our security camera footage showed that Mr Hofer had received a genuine note from the ATM, and then replaced it with a fake note from his shoulder bag.
After the investigation, on the same day our team invited Mr Hofer to the branch, showed him the evidence of his premeditated scam, and questioned him on the case. Mr Hofer admitted that he did try to cheat the Bank. As result, security team of ABA handed over Mr Hofer to the Khan Daun Penh police station for further action along with all the proofs and evidences.
On Monday, April 8, 2019, the detained was sent to the Phnom Penh court for questioning. He is suspected of committing crime as provided by Article 377 and 378 of the Criminal Code (Fraud) with a sentence of 6 (six) months to 3 (three) years in prison and a fine of 1 – 6 million Khmer Riels. ABA Bank’s legal team continues to work collaboratively with the local law enforcement agencies and we will keep you updated on this case.
We take this opportunity to firmly reject any accusations related to distribution of unfit currency notes. We still believe that it is a scam scheme aimed at defiling the Bank’s reputation, and we reserve the right to refer it to local authorities and prosecute such cases to the fullest extent permitted by law.
ABA Bank would also like to advise its clients to always check and count their money thoroughly before leaving the ATM or bank counter as the Bank doesn’t bear any responsibility afterwards.