OTTAWA — Ibrahim El-Hakim, a former employee of RBC, is facing serious charges, including fraud and identity theft, after allegedly accessing Prime Minister Mark Carney's banking profile. His lawyer, Ron Guertin, stated that he is still waiting for additional evidence from the Crown and will return to court on November 5.

Guertin appeared in an Ottawa courthouse on Wednesday to request a deferral of the case for a few weeks. He explained that he is expecting more "disclosure," which includes the prosecution's evidence such as video footage and witness statements. After the hearing, Guertin refrained from discussing the specifics of the evidence against El-Hakim but suggested that the case has been exaggerated. "There’s nothing much that I can say about it, to tell you the truth. I know that all the sensationalism is about Mr. Carney," he said. "He isn’t even one of the charges."

El-Hakim, 23, was arrested on July 10, 2025, and has been charged with fraud over $5,000, unauthorized use of a work computer, identity theft, and trafficking in identity information. The investigation is ongoing, and further charges may be added.

According to a police affidavit, El-Hakim admitted to being lured by an individual on Telegram, a messaging service often associated with criminal activity. This individual, known by the alias "AI WORLD," is believed to be connected to organized crime. El-Hakim reportedly received instructions to approve lines of credit or process credit card applications for fraudulent identities, earning $500 for each transaction, totaling $5,000. Payments were made to his accounts at CIBC and TD Bank.

RBC discovered that El-Hakim had accessed Carney's personal banking profile, although it remains unclear whether he did so at the request of the Telegram contact or independently. Court documents also indicate that he accessed a banking profile under the name "Justin Trudeau," but it is not linked to the former prime minister.

Cheryl Brean, director of communications for personal and commercial banking at RBC, stated that the bank took immediate action to report El-Hakim's activities to authorities and confirmed that he is no longer employed there.

El-Hakim did not attend court on Wednesday. Guertin mentioned that his client is "doing well" but did not speculate on future steps until he receives all the evidence. He criticized the slow pace of the process, attributing it to the RCMP's involvement. "If this were a local police case, I would have had everything I needed a long time ago," he said. The RCMP has not responded to these comments. Guertin confirmed that El-Hakim is not expected to appear in court on November 5, stating, "No, it’ll be me. Just one pretty face."