Police Charges Three Venezuelans Who Stole €136,440 in ATM Withdrawals

Bratislava, 23 June (TASR) - Police have charged three Venezuelan nationals over unauthorised cash withdrawals from ATMs in the Bratislava region at the beginning of February, Bratislava police spokesperson Michal Szeiff told TASR on Tuesday. The suspects are currently being held in custody pending trial. If found guilty, they face up to five years in prison. According to the investigation so far, the accused selected several ATMs located in a shopping centre in Bratislava and in the town of Svaty Jur (Bratislava region) before connecting to them using a specialised device designed to bypass authorisation mechanisms. "By this method, they carried out unauthorised withdrawals totalling €136,440," Szeiff said. He added that police officers detained the suspects during their latest attempt to withdraw cash, apprehending them at the scene inside a shopping centre. During subsequent procedural actions, the suspects voluntarily handed over the device used to carry out the unauthorised ATM withdrawals. mf