A former RBC client adviser allegedly accessed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s banking information on June 17 at an RBC branch near Parliament Hill.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
The lawyer for a former Royal Bank of Canada employee facing criminal charges for allegedly accessing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s banking profile says the case is being sensationalized.
Ronald Guertin, an Ottawa lawyer, made the point on Wednesday, as he appeared in court for a brief hearing on the case involving his client, Ibrahim El-Hakim. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for Nov. 5.
The case also involves an allegation that Mr. El-Hakim, who is 23-years-old, was participating in a bank scheme linked to organized crime. In the Ontario Court of Justice, Mr. Guertin said the related RCMP investigation is “rather involved.”
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Guertin said of the case, “It’s being sensationalized. It’s a very simple case.” He declined to elaborate.
Mr. El-Hakim, a former RBC client adviser, allegedly accessed Mr. Carney’s profile on June 17 at an RBC branch near Parliament Hill.
According to an affidavit from an RCMP officer, Mr. El-Hakim, who was hired in 2022, admitted in a June 27 interview with the bank’s director of security to participating in fraud.
RBC employee accused of accessing Carney’s bank profile in alleged wider scheme
Mr. El-Hakim said he had been lured into the alleged scheme by someone on the Telegram app using the alias “AI WORLD,” which is believed to be a group linked to organized crime, the affidavit said.
The Telegram user asked him to create banking profiles, obtain credit cards and access customer profiles, promising to pay him $500 for each completed request, according to the affidavit. Mr. El-Hakim received a total of $5,000 in payment to his accounts at Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the document said.
According to RBC’s internal investigation, the total credit-card fraud amounts to $68,500.
Mr. El-Hakim has been charged with fraud over $5,000, unauthorized use of a computer, identity theft and trafficking in identity information, according to court documents.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Mr. El-Hakim also allegedly accessed a banking profile belonging to someone named Justin Trudeau, according to the affidavit, although the RCMP said the account did not belong to the former prime minister.
On Wednesday, Mr. Guertin said he is awaiting further disclosure from the Crown. “I’m going to get what I can get from the Crown today and then we’ll move forward.”
He said he would have had all of the required material for the case by now if it were being handled by a local force such as the Ottawa Police Service. Instead, he said, the issue has been complicated because the RCMP is involved as a national police force.
Mr. Guertin said that he did not expect that Mr. El-Hakim will be in court on Nov. 5.