– This is twice the size of Nokia’s theft – E24

– The scam linked to a loan agreement Norfund has signed with a microfinance institution in Cambodia of $ 10 million, around NOK 100 million, Norfund director Tellef Thorleifsson tells NRK, who mentioned the case for the first time .

Norfund invests in developing countries to contribute to economic growth and job creation.

The scam was discovered when the perpetrators attempted a new parallel scam attempt, according to a press release.

During a press conference in Norfund on Wednesday afternoon, legal director Thomas Fjeld Heltne said that all Norfund payments were immediately suspended when the fraud was discovered.

– This still applies, he says.

– Since the relationship was revealed, we have continuously worked to understand the big picture and have also invested considerable resources to get an overview of the course of events, says Heltne.

No more revealed conditions

Norfund banker DNB was also present during the press conference. Section manager Terje Fjeldvær at the Financial Crime Center in DNB made the order of magnitude clear.

– We must remember that this is twice the size of the Nokia theft.

– Scammers have spent a lot of time on Norfund’s email systems to hit the right time. They have manipulated both sides, says Fjeldvær

Managing Director Tellef Thorleifsson also claims that Norfund has so far revealed no more fraud attempts than the two mentioned, which have now been reported to police.

– These attacks are carried out by sophisticated criminals with great resources. We haven’t been exposed to this before, but we’ve seen the same thing with one of our partners, he says.

The money went to Mexico

in a Press release Earlier Wednesday, Norfund wrote that “they face serious fraud as a result of an advanced data breach,” which took place on March 16 of this year. The scam was first discovered on April 30.

The money would go to the LOLC microcredit institution in Cambodia.

– This is a very serious incident for which we apologize strongly. Now we are charting the full course of events to get to the bottom of the case and we are taking steps to prevent the same thing from happening again, ”says President Olaug Svarva in the press release.

In the data breach, the scammers managed to transfer the loan, which was actually going to Cambodia, to another account. The money has gone to Mexico, says Norfund.

The method should have been to infiltrate the dialogue between Norfund and the institution in Cambodia, and then pretend to be both sides in the dialogue with each other.

– They did this in a realistic way in design, content and language. It was wonderfully done, says Thorleifsson.

Ultimately, the scammers led Norfund to believe that an account number in Mexico belonged to the institution in Cambodia. Therefore, the money was lost.

– Very unfortunate

The scam should have been discovered when the scammers attempted a new data breach. Norfund immediately put into crisis, contacted the police and notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Norfund’s board of directors has also hired PWC to carry out an external and independent review of the company’s routines and security systems, they say.

– This is a very serious topic. Fraud clearly shows that we, as international investors and aid actors, are highly vulnerable through the active use of digital channels. The fact that this has happened shows that our systems and routines are not good enough. We have addressed this immediately, says Thorleifsson in the press release.

During Wednesday’s press conference, he elaborated on this.

– For me, as a leader, it is very unfortunate to announce that we have been exposed to this. It hurts, says Thorleifsson.

– The fact that this has happened shows that our routines have not been good enough. In collaboration with the police, we have chosen not to get away with this due to the investigation. The plan was to leave early tomorrow, but NRK had heard about it and we sped it up, he explains.