An employee of the Royal Bank of Canada in Ottawa has been charged with accessing the banking information of Prime Minister Mark Carney and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced the charges against 23-year-old Ibrahim El-Hakim on Wednesday. He faces multiple charges, including fraud over $5,000, unauthorized use of a computer, identity theft, and trafficking in identity information.

El-Hakim was hired by RBC in 2022 and worked at a branch near Parliament Hill. According to an affidavit filed to preserve computer data for the investigation, he allegedly misused the bank's information technology services for criminal activities. The affidavit indicates that El-Hakim accessed several banking profiles without authorization and engaged in fraudulent activities.

The investigation revealed that much of El-Hakim's actions were captured on video. He reportedly confessed to the allegations during an interview with RBC's internal security team. The affidavit also states that El-Hakim claimed he was drawn into the scheme by an individual using the name "AI WORLD" on the social media platform Telegram. Investigators suspect that this account may be connected to organized crime.

El-Hakim informed the bank that he was creating fake bank profiles and obtaining lines of credit at the request of the Telegram user. The court document shows that he accessed the banking profiles of Carney and Trudeau on June 17. For each request he completed, El-Hakim stated he received $500, totaling approximately $5,000.

The RCMP arrested El-Hakim on July 10, and he has since been released under certain conditions. He is scheduled to appear in court next week. Authorities have indicated that they do not believe there was any risk to the safety of the prime minister or to national security.

A spokesperson for RBC confirmed that El-Hakim is no longer with the bank. "We worked closely with law enforcement to support their investigation," said Cheryl Brean, the spokesperson.