Updated | NCB employee in multimillion-dollar fraud remanded

The National Commercial Bank employee who was arrested in a multimillion-dollar fraud was this morning remanded after the judge refused to entertain a bail application for him.

Arsenio Johnson, 32, a retail support officer, appeared before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on charges of larceny as a servant as well as breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Cybercrimes Act.

When the case was mentioned, Johnson's lawyer, Annette Henry, indicated that she wanted to make a bail application as her client has been in custody for days.  

But, the judge told her that a bail application is not usually heard at the first court appearance and that she should set a date for the hearing. 

The lawyer, however, insisted and appealed to Parish Judge Maxine Dennis-McPherson to grant her client bail as she said that he is diabetic and hypertensive. 

She also told the judge that he is a devoted husband and father of three children who have been asking about his whereabouts. 

Additionally, the lawyer said that Johnson has cooperated with the police and is not a flight risk. 

But, the judge told her that she was not minded to entertain a bail application at this time as she wishes for the outstanding documents in the case to be submitted so that Henry can make a fulsome submission.

Consequently, the lawyer requested an earlier date and a bail application was set for August 11. 

It is alleged that between January 2020 and July 2022 Johnson carried out a number of unauthorised transfers of monies from the bank's suspense account to two accounts associated with him totalling $ 5.86 million. 

He is to return to court on September 12.

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