Former RBC employee charged with fraud, identity theft for accessing Mark Carney’s personal data
OTTAWA — The RCMP has arrested and charged a former Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) employee after he allegedly accessed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s personal data.
The federal police force confirmed on Wednesday that Ibrahim El-Hakim, a 23-year-old man living in Ottawa, has been charged with fraud over $5,000, an unauthorized use of his work computer, identity theft and trafficking in identity information.
Court documents obtained by Postmedia show that El-Hakim had been hired in 2022 as a customer advisor by the RBC branch on Bank Street, steps away from Parliament Hill.
The Mounties opened an investigation in early July 2025 following a complaint from RBC. The alleged criminal acts occurred between November 16, 2023, and June 18, 2025.
The RCMP’s findings showed that El-Hakim allegedly used the bank’s IT services for “criminal purposes, including consulting several bank profiles without authorization and participating in fraud,” RCMP Caporal Erique Gasse wrote in an email.
“Mr. El-Hakim is believed to have accessed, among other things, the personal data of Prime Minister Mark Carney,” said Gasse.
Cheryl Brean, director of communications of personal and commercial banking at RBC, said that the bank “independently identified unauthorized system access” and “took immediate action to engage authorities.” She said El-Hakim is no longer an employee.
On June 27, El-Hakim met with a supervisor at RBC as part of the bank’s internal investigation, according to court documents. He admitted having been lured by an individual on Telegram, an encrypted messaging service known to be used by criminals.
The individual, who used the alias “AI WORLD” on Telegram, is believed to be part of a group linked to organized crime.
El-Hakim received certain orders to either grant lines of credit or accept credit card applications to fraudulent identities, and received $500 each time, for a total of $5,000. He was then paid by electronic bank transfers to his accounts at CIBC and TD Bank.
He was also asked to access specific banking profiles to consult confidential information.
In checking El-Hakim’s browsing history, RBC found that their employee had accessed Carney’s personal banking profile — though it is unclear if he was asked to do it by the individual who contacted him on Telegram or if he did on his own volition.
Court documents show that El-Hakim also consulted the banking profile of a certain “Justin Trudeau” but it is not believed to be the former prime minister’s account.
The RCMP spokesperson said El-Hakim was arrested on July 10, 2025, and released on a promise to appear with conditions. El-Hakim appeared at the Ottawa courthouse on Aug. 6, 2025, and is set to appear again on Oct. 1, 2025, in Ottawa, he said.
Gasse said further charges may be laid against the former RBC employee.
The investigation is being led by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET), composed of specially trained members of the RCMP and other law enforcement partners, in Montreal because it involves the Prime Minister of Canada, he added.
Cybersecurity expert Steve Waterhouse said similar situations can happen hundreds of times in financial institutions on any given year, but they rarely make headlines.
“In this case, now that we have a prominent, high-profile figure that’s involved, that’s why everybody is scrambling today to try to understand what was going on,” said Waterhouse, who is a former assistant deputy minister for cybersecurity for the Government of Quebec.
“I’m glad it’s happening, because we can talk (about the fact that) this is happening more often than everybody realizes,” he added.
Waterhouse said personal data provided by banks is a “holy grail of information” for criminal organizations, because it is usually legitimate, and that is why they seek to get in touch with employees of financial institutions that can provide that direct access.
With that information, he suggested criminal organizations could attempt to impersonate Carney and try to extract money from his extended international network. There could also be attempts to smear Carney’s reputation, although Waterhouse said that was unlikely.
The RCMP said their findings show there is no broader threat for Carney for the time being.
“Our investigation did not lead us to believe there was any threat to the prime minister’s safety or to national security in this case,” said Gasse.
RBC said it is working closely with law enforcement to support their investigation, something that the RCMP has confirmed.
The RCMP said that El-Hakim was not known to the police but the Mounties are unwilling to say at this time if he was part of a criminal organization. According to Le Journal de Montréal, El-Hakim ignored the true identities of the people he was corresponding with on Telegram.
“As the investigation is still ongoing, we cannot provide further details,” said Gasse.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to provide any comment, referring the matter to the RCMP.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he was not aware of the details of this specific matter but said this situation serves as a reminder to have strong measures in place to protect people’s privacy — and said it applies to all Canadians.
“So, it just reminds everyone that privacy and having systems to prevent fraudulent access to anyone’s files is something that we should all be concerned about,” he said.
National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com
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