A New Building Society (NBS) account holder who says she lost $7.2M after requesting a wire transfer last year is suing the society for the transaction to be completed.
Elizabeth Singh, a Scottish citizen, who has been a member of the society for more than twelve years, filed the application in the High Court through her power of attorney, Margaret Chan-A-Sue last week. She is seeking an order that NBS transfer the money to her account in Scotland or that the society reissue a cheque in her favour totalling $7.6M, and damages.
In court documents filed, Singh said, she met a former senior NBS officer during December 2006 who assisted her with her transactions. Shortly after that she enquired from the officer about converting money from her account and wiring it over to a Scottish account. The man responded by saying that NBS was able to make the necessary arrangements to effect the transfer.
Singh then requested that the society through the senior officer convert $6.1M into US dollars and wire the money over. She was instructed by the officer to request a Manager’s cheque equalling the sum and then to endorse the cheque in order to facilitate NBS effecting the conversion. Singh complied and was subsequently supplied with a Republic Bank US dollars cheque in the sum of $29,600 representing the conversion of $6.1M.
After receiving the cheque in her account, Singh enquired about the society converting to pounds sterling and transferring $7.2M to her Scottish account and was again assured by the senior officer that NBS was able to do that as well. Singh was instructed to request two Manager’s cheques equalling the sum and she was again asked to endorse them. The senior officer confirmed that NBS would do the transfer as soon as funds were available. At the time of the endorsement of the cheques the senior officer did a status analysis and computation of Singh’s account and issued same to her.
Singh returned to Scotland and made several checks with her bank to confirm the wire transfer only to be informed that no such funds were transferred. Singh then made contact with the former Chief Executive Officer of NBS, Maurice Arjoon who she said informed her that he had confirmed the transaction with the senior officer and further, he promised to have the transaction completed.
Singh said Arjoon even asked her to confirm her banking information in order to facilitate the completion of the transaction. After a protracted period of futile enquiry, he later informed Singh that the senior officer had defrauded the society and had disappeared. NBS then refused to complete the transaction.
According to the statement of claim, the senior officer held himself out to Singh as having the requisite authority to conduct the transfers as a servant of NBS, and the subsequent acknowledgement of the former CEO of the transaction as well as his efforts to have it concluded, amounted to further validation that the transfer was in fact being conducted under the aegis of the defendant society.
Singh said she dealt with the senior officer and the CEO as officers of NBS and never in a personal capacity, and that in all her dealings with NBS she followed the instructions and advice of the senior officer and the CEO as senior functionaries, and in the case of the CEO, as a director of the company in which she is a member.
Singh said NBS is a trustee of her assets and that it owed the obligations of a trustee in respect of her assets. As a consequence of her membership, she said, NBS has a duty to act in her interests and that it also has a duty to act for the proper purposes in relation to her affairs. She said to date the transfer has not been completed and she has made demands. Singh said she has suffered substantial loss and damages as a consequence of the wrongful acts by NBS. The matter comes up for hearing on November 21, 2007.
