A private nurse allegedly stole more than BD25,000 from a disabled patient, after taking his phone and transferring funds to her own account using his online banking app, a court heard.
The Indian expatriate is standing trial at the High Criminal Court for using the alleged victim’s electronic signature – a one-time password (OTP) – for nefarious purposes.
She was also charged with stealing the Bahraini victim’s money, a total of BD25,750, after gaining unauthorised access to a digital system.
Prosecutors claim that the medical worker ‘exploited the victim’s condition and lack of mobility’ to carry out the theft.
According to the Public Prosecution, the woman was able to access his BenefitPay app, which was connected to his bank account, and make the transfers.
After receiving the funds in her Bahraini bank account, she went on to transfer them back home to India, prosecutors claim.
When confronted, she reportedly returned BD3,500 to the victim – less than 14 per cent of the original sum.
The incident first came to light when the patient’s son discovered that large amounts of money had been withdrawn from his father’s account last September and October.
He traced the path of the funds, and reportedly discovered that they had been credited to the bank account of the nurse that took care of his medically-dependent father.
As the defendant failed to make full restitution, the son brought the matter to the attention of the authorities.
“The defendant admitted to taking the victim’s mobile phone without his knowledge,” the prosecution claimed in court.
“She stated that she used a financial app on the patient’s phone to move the aforementioned amounts, in chunks, into her possession, then in turn transferred the whole amount overseas.”
“Although she returned BD3,500 to the man and his family, she did not give back the rest of the money she illicitly took.”
A letter from BenefitPay detailed the transfers and also confirmed that the device, from which the final transfers were made, belonged to the defendant.
Judges adjourned the hearing to February 10 for defence arguments.
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