A CORK CREDIT Union has confirmed that money was taken from some members’ accounts last year.

In September 2016, “irregularities” were flagged on “a small number of accounts” at Synergy Credit Union in Fermoy, Co Cork.

Management then stepped in to confirm the irregularities, and Grant Thornton were commissioned to undertake an investigation.

The credit union says it told the relevant authorities, including An Garda Síochana, “as soon as the matter came to light”.

Following the credit union’s internal investigation, action was then taken according to a statement:

…all affected accounts have been replenished to their correct balance. The credit union is insured to deal with such matters and no member’s savings were lost.

The Irish Examiner reports that €407,442 was taken from dozens of accounts.

An individual has accepted responsibility for the incident, and has co-operated with the investigation in full and is no longer employed by the credit union.

In a statement to TheJournal.ie, gardaí said an investigation is ongoing into “alleged financial irregularities at a financial institution based in Fermoy”.

Synergy Credit Union said it would like to reassure its members that their savings are safe and continue to be protected by the Government Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

“The credit union continues to operate as normal,” it said.

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