A Malaysia couple were arrested for stealing more than $30,000 from the accounts of four people who were aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
Nur Shila Kanan, an HSBC Bank employee, and her husband, Basheer Ahmad, have been accused of stealing a total of $34,850 from the accounts of two Malaysians and two Chinese nationals who were aboard the Kuala Lumpur-bound Boeing 777 that vanished on March 8, AFP reports.
Authorities believe the couple pilfered the money through a series of electronic transfers and ATM withdrawals between May 14 and July 8, according to the couple’s lawyer, Hakeem Aiman Affandi.
The Malaysian bank officer and her mechanic husband were charged Wednesday with forgery, theft and 14 other offenses in relation to the missing funds. They pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur court, Affandi told AFP.
Kanan has worked for the Malaysian operations of British banking giant HSBC for the past decade.
The couple, both 33, have three children and could face several years in prison if they are found guilty.
Police are now searching for a Pakistani suspect believed to have received a portion of the stolen money in his bank account through an online transfer, according to AFP.
Outrage and disgust towards the allegations have been increasingly evident in Malaysia, where emotions continue to run high as people recover from the mysterious disappearance of Flight MH370.