The country's main union for bank workers asserts that banks are responsible for their depositors' lost money following fraudulent withdrawals amounting to RM24.2 million.

"In this case, the bank is responsible for returning the depositor's lost money," stated National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) General-Secretary J. Solomon.

Solomon emphasized that banks cannot shirk their responsibility if they are at fault.

He was responding to Bank Negara Malaysia's call for affected depositors to be reimbursed.

To date, police have detained 14 individuals, including four bank employees, in connection with the fraudulent withdrawals from several fixed deposit accounts totaling RM24.2 million.

The issue surfaced after several depositors noticed suspicious cash withdrawals from their fixed deposit accounts in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Solomon highlighted that bank employees are custodians of public funds and must perform their duties with integrity to maintain public trust in financial institutions.

Meanwhile, crime analyst Datuk Shahul Hamid Abd Rahim suggested that banks rotate employees for critical tasks to prevent such incidents. He also recommended that banks encourage depositors to check their accounts more frequently.

Recently, Bank Negara mandated that all financial institutions implement robust controls to safeguard customers' money. It also urged banks involved in the police investigation to cooperate fully with authorities and take appropriate remedial or disciplinary actions based on internal investigation findings.