Ex-Banker Pleads Guilty After Taking $500 per Fake Account He Opened and Accessing Mark Carney's Bank Profile

A former Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) employee who secretly accessed Prime Minister Mark Carney's banking profile has pleaded guilty to three criminal offences linked to a fraud scheme involving at least 43 fake accounts.

Ibrahim El-Hakim, who worked at an RBC branch in downtown Ottawa, admitted participating in the scheme after being recruited through Telegram by someone he believed had connections to organised crime.

According to court documents reported by The Canadian Press on 4 November, El-Hakim pleaded guilty in August 2026 to fraud exceeding C$5,000 (£2,658), unauthorised computer use and identity theft. The investigation also revealed that he had accessed Carney's private banking profile without permission while working at the bank.

Bank Worker Received C$500 Per Fraudulent Account

An agreed statement of facts filed in an Ontario court revealed that El-Hakim opened at least 43 fraudulent bank accounts between November 2023 and June 2025.

The operation was allegedly directed by an individual using the online alias "AI WORLD", who contacted El-Hakim through the messaging platform Telegram.

The individual supplied other people's personal information, including names, dates of birth, social insurance numbers, driving licence details and passport information.

Using those details, El-Hakim created customer profiles, opened fraudulent accounts and attempted to obtain credit products. He also transmitted identifying information, including online banking passwords, back to his contact.

El-Hakim received C$500 (£265) for each account opened, collecting at least C$5,000 through electronic transfers into accounts he held at other banks, according to the agreed statement of facts.

When questioned by RBC's corporate security team in late June 2025, El-Hakim admitted his involvement and explained that financial difficulties had driven him to participate.

How Mark Carney's Banking Records Were Accessed

The investigation also uncovered unauthorised access to the Canadian prime minister's banking profile. On 17 June 2025, El-Hakim used RBC's internal computer systems to access Carney's customer banking profile without authorisation.

He also accessed a banking profile under the name Justin Trudeau, although investigators subsequently established that the account did not belong to Canada's former prime minister.

Surveillance footage showed El-Hakim checking his smartwatch and using a mobile phone while looking through customer information on his workstation.

The court documents do not establish that Carney's financial information was used to open fraudulent accounts or passed to the Telegram contact.

Investigators also noted that El-Hakim had undergone workplace training covering ethics, customer privacy, security and fraud prevention.

Separately, the fraud scheme left other RBC customers affected. According to the agreed statement of facts, the bank spent C$14,634 (£7,778) providing two years of credit monitoring to 27 customers whose identities had been stolen.

Former RBC Employee Misses Sentencing Hearing

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) launched an investigation in July 2025 after receiving a complaint from RBC. El-Hakim was arrested on 10 July 2025.

Because the case involved the prime minister, investigators assigned it to the RCMP's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team in Montreal.

However, RCMP Corporal Erique Gasse said in September 2025 that investigators had found no evidence suggesting a threat to Carney's personal safety or Canada's national security.

El-Hakim has yet to be sentenced despite pleading guilty to the three offences.

He did not attend a sentencing hearing in late October 2026, with his lawyer informing Ontario Court Justice Norm Boxall that he was no longer in Ottawa.

The court has scheduled another sentencing hearing for later in November 2026. No sentence had been imposed as of 4 November.