Accused ATM fraudster remanded

A Bulgarian man charged with stealing $1,800 from two Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in the city was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison yesterday. Martin Dimitrov Dachenski, 39, appeared in the St. John’s Magistrates’ Court before Joanne Walsh, chief magistrate, after being charged with the offences that occurred on December 15.
The accused will reappear in court again in March 2018 when committal proceedings are scheduled to begin. Then, the magistrate will determine if a prima facie case was made by the prosecution to send the matter to the High Court. In the meantime, the accused can try to secure bail in the High Court. Dachenski was apprehended on Monday in Montserrat after he absconded. Law enforcement agents accompanied him back to Antigua aboard the ferry.
Police said the accused targeted an ATM at a supermarket and another one in St. John’s. At the time, the theft was discovered, an investigation was launched which led police to make an appeal for help in identifying and tracking down the suspect who was captured by the ATM’s security camera. Initial police investigation revealed that the accused attached an implement to the machine which he was able to use to capture data that he could later use to access the bank accounts of unsuspecting ATM users.