NAB employee Timotius ‘Donny’ Sungkar charged over role in alleged $200m bank fraud

A senior NAB business banking manager has been charged over his alleged role in a sophisticated $200m fraud and money laundering syndicate, with police saying ‘all financial institutions have been affected’.

Timotius ‘Donny’ Sungkar, 36, was arrested in a dawn raid on Thursday at a property in Bonnyrigg, in Sydney’s west.

A senior business banking manager at NAB has been charged as part of his alleged role in a highly sophisticated $200m fraud and money laundering syndicate that has left “all financial institutions” exposed , as detectives warn of more arrests to come.

Timotius ‘Donny’ Sungkar, 36, was arrested in a dawn raid on Thursday at a property in Bonnyrigg, in Sydney’s west.

Sungkar, who police said had worked for NAB since 2008, most recently as a senior business banking manager, has been charged with a slew of financial crimes.

“He was charged with 19 offences, including 10 offences in relation to business loans that (allegedly) amassed up to $10m for the syndicate,” financial crimes squad detective superintendent Gordon Arbinja said.

Police allege that over the last three years Sungkar helped approve fraudulent business loans for overvalued properties across Sydney as part of an organised crime group dubbed the Penthouse Syndicate.

As part of the wider investigation into the Penthouse Syndicate, the NSW Crime Commission has so far seized $60m in assets.

Sungkar has also been charged with possession of anabolic steroids and two counts of possessing or attempting to prescribe a restricted substance.

Sungkar appeared briefly in Fairfield Local Court on Friday via video link. No pleas were entered and he was refused bail to appear for committal on November 26.

Police allege the syndicate first came to the attention of investigators last year when they discovered members were allegedly using stolen personal information to apply for loans through various financial companies to purchase luxury “ghost cars” that did not exist.

“Police have discovered that the syndicate has expanded to mortgage personal and business loans that we think now amounts to well over $200m. All financial institutions have been affected by this,” detective Arbinja alleged.

All of Australia’s other major banks declined to comment.

However, police confirmed to The Australian that there are employees at other banks currently under investigation.

Sungkar’s arrest comes as part of a wider investigation into the so-called Penthouse Syndicate Picture: Picture: NSW Police

Sungkar was the sixteenth person to be charged in relation to the Penthouse Syndicate, with detective Arbinja warning of many more arrests in the coming months.

“We are now going to focus on bankers, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, solicitors and so forth, in relation to this organised crime syndicate,” he added.

Detective Arbinja, who said he thought the alleged fraud could blow out to $250m, explained how it allegedly worked.

“The (alleged) fraud method usually involves the facilitation of mortgage frauds for properties that are overvalued, the syndicate then use the equity in the overvaluation to apply for business loans that are usually approved within days of the initial mortgage fraud,” he said.

Detective Arbinja described Sungkar as an alleged “gatekeeper of funds”.

“Without this person, the (alleged) fraud cannot be facilitated. He’s in a position of trust. He violated that trust,” Detective Arbinja added.

During the search of Sungkar’s property, police located and seized approximately $60,000 worth of luxury jewellery and watches.

Sungkar frequently shared pictures of his expensive watch collection on social media, including a recent close-up video of a Rolex Datejust with a Wimbledon dial, which retails for about $22,000.

“One way to let your wrist alleviate stress away is by practicing some twist movement, and I’m feeling better already,” Sungkar captioned the footage.

Social media posts Mr Sungkar shared of his watch collection, including a close-up of a Rolex Datejust with a Wimbledon dial. Picture: Facebook

A picture Sungkar shared online prior to his arrest. Picture: Facebook

NAB immediately suspended Sungkar when the bank was alerted to the police investigation.

Detective Arbinja said NAB had done everything right “in relation to proper mechanisms, training protocols, integrity and training”.

“However, an organisation cannot protect themselves from an employee that turns their mind to corruption,” he added.

NAB executive for group investigations Chris Sheehan said the bank “acted swiftly to investigate and this individual’s employment was terminated”.

“NAB has worked in partnership with NSW Police on this matter and continues to provide significant support to aid the investigation and attempted recovery of any funds lost to criminal activity,” Mr Sheehan added.

He said there had been “no customer impact or financial losses by customers as a result of this matter”.

During NAB’s full-year results presentation on Thursday, chief financial officer Shaun Dooley said financial crime had been one of the “key drivers in our operating expense line this year”.

“Next year … we expect greater productivity to come through (and) we’ll see some moderation of some of the financial crime headwinds that we’ve seen in recent years,” he told investors.

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Originally published as NAB employee Timotius ‘Donny’ Sungkar charged over role in alleged $200m bank fraud