A German bank branch manager who secretly transferred more than EUR7.6 million from rich to poor clients has been given a 22 month suspended jail sentence.
The 62 year old woman from Bonn - dubbed "Die Robin Hood Bankerin" - moved the money in 117 transfers between 2003 and 2005.
A court in Bonn was told that the woman allowed overdrafts for customers who should not have qualified for them. Then, during monthly audits, she transferred money from richer clients to disguise the loans.
Most of the money was transferred back to the rich clients but EUR1.1 million was lost by the bank because customers could not pay off the unauthorised overdrafts.
The woman faced the prospect of a four year prison term but the court took a lenient view because she did not profit personally, confessed, lost her job and has begun reimbursing the bank from her small retirement pension.