A BULGARIAN has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with hard labour for attempting to steal over K80,000 from 31 Barclays Bank customers by unlawfully accessing their data. This is in a case in which Eugene Angelovu, 43, of 38 Sofia, Bulgaria, is charged with unlawful possession of implements of forgery and accessing data.

On May 28, 2017 in Livingstone, Angelovu had implements of forgery which he used for accessing data at a Barclays Bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Delivering judgment on Monday, Livingstone resident magistrate William Banda said he had considered evidence from witnesses, including Barclays Bank forensic investigator Kennedy Mwewa of Chilanga.

During trial, the court heard that Mr Mwewa instructed Livingstone branch manager Kennedy Munabakayo to keep vigil of the ATM cards until the suspects were apprehended after receiving information that the cards had been tampered with. Mr Mwewa requested for police assistance and Angelovu was apprehended about two hours later.

The court further heard that Mr Mwewa travelled to Livingstone Barclays Bank branch, where he retrieved Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) recordings to establish the times Angelovu had visited the ATM. The CCTV recordings showed that a white male person [Angelovu] had visited the ATM at 07:40 hours and 08:23 hours on the material day.

The white person later visited the ATM at 11:03 hours before the device was removed from the ATM at 11:50 hours. According to CCTV recordings, Angelovu was the one who placed the implements of forgery on the ATM.
The potential risk was that the 31 customers who had transacted on that ATM on the material day were going to lose K81,000.

Following evidence adduced from CCTV recordings, magistrate Banda found Angelovu with a case to answer. Angelovu, who was represented by lawyer Isaac Masonga of KBF and Partners, however, chose to remain silent.

In mitigation, Major Masonga said Angelovu was a first offender who deserved maximum leniency from the court. Major Masonga said the court had “a lot of discretionary powers it can apply when imposing a sentence on convicts”. But in sentencing Angelovu, magistrate Banda said he had considered the mitigation and jailed Angelovu for 18 months with hard labour for each count.

The sentences will, however, run concurrently.Magistrate Banda also ordered that the implements used in the crime be forfeited to the State.