False cards used to withdraw €3,600 from ATMs

A Bulgarian man was jailed for 16 months today after he admitted using two false credit cards to withdraw €800 from a BoV ATM.

Police Inspector Ian Abdilla said in court that last Saturday evening, Bank of Valletta alerted the police that a  number of illegal transactions were taking place, using false credit cards.

The bank, using CCTV footage, managed to identify four to five people involved in such crimes.

At Msida, the accused, Tsvyatko Zlatarev, was seen on CCTV withdrawing cash from an ATM. By the time a police patrol arrived outside the bank, the man had left, but policemen spotted him a short distance away and arrested him.

Investigations related to the other men are continuing. The men withdrew a total of €3,600.

The accused was initially uncooperative with the police and claimed he was approached by two Romanian men who promised him €200 if he withdrew money for them. He agreed but was caught.

He only admitted that he commited the crime - without involvement by the Romanians - just before being taken to court.

The man was jailed for 16 months in jail.