Former Citi executive charged with $19 mn fraud

A former top executive of Citigroup has been charged for allegedly siphoning off more than $19 million from the bank, the latest in a string of frauds that have come to light at the global banking giant.

Gary Foster, a former vice president at Citigroup's treasury finance department, has been arrested by the US authorities.

Foster has been slapped with bank fraud charges arising from his embezzlement of over $19 million, according to the US Department of Justice.

In the recent times, financial frauds have come to light at Citigroup's operations in India and Indonesia.

Many depositors and high-networth individuals (NHIs) were duped of around $102 million in a fraud allegedly masterminded by one Shivraj Puri, who was Citibank's global wealth manager at Gurgaon branch.

Going by reports, in Indonesia earlier this year, a Citigroup official was slapped with charges of embezzling millions of dollars from rich clients.

US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E Lynch in a statement issued on Monday said that Foster allegedly used his knowledge of bank operations to commit the ultimate inside job.

Between July 2010 and December 2010, Foster allegedly caused approximately $900,000 to be moved from Citigroup's interest expense account and about $14.4 million from the entity's debt adjustment account to the bank's cash account, as per the complaint.

Later, that money was wired out of Citigroups cash account to his personal account at another bank in eight separate wire transfers.

"... Foster caused a fraudulent contract or deal number to be placed in the reference line of the wire transfer instructions to create the appearance that the transfers were in support of an existing contract," the complaint said.

If convicted, Foster would face a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment.