A wealthy client’s $1 million was stolen by an Italian banker. But he never took a penny for himself.

It all began in 2009, at the height of the world financial crisis. The Italian government was working to revive the economy of the nation. Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, chose drastic measures to avert a default. This made obtaining bank loans much more difficult.

The bank manager in the Italian town of Forni di Sopra was Gilberto Baschiera. The population of Forni di Sopra is not much more than 1000. The bank manager becomes a prominent citizen thanks to this.

People from the town came to him seeking a loan. However, many of them were ineligible. Baschiera found it difficult to defend turning down loan requests. He felt sorry for the people who couldn’t afford to apply.

Baschiera began taking small payments from wealthy clients. He distributed the funds to those who couldn’t obtain credit. He stole roughly $1 million over the course of 7 years. He established a system of “shadow financing.”

Some clients agreed to quickly return that money. Some people did not. Clients who were unable to repay their loans went into default. This resulted in Baschiera’s inevitable exposure.

In 2016, his team discovered the accounting discrepancy. Authorities learned about Baschiera from a report. The prosecutor charged him with fraud and theft.

Baschiera pointed the finger at the corrupt banking industry. He claimed that it leaves elderly and young people without resources behind. He was referred to as a “modern Robin Hood” by Italian media. To apologize for his actions, Baschiera called each of the clients he had stolen from.

He was handed a two year sentence for his crimes. But the Italian law was easy on him. As a first time offender with a minor sentence, he was spared. Baschiera secured a plea bargain with authorities. The fact that he did not benefit from the crime spared him from prison.

However, he had lost his home as well as his job. Still, it can be said Baschiera was lucky. In similar cases in other countries, courts have been far less forgiving.

In 2007, a German banker was sentenced to almost 3 years in prison. He setup a scheme to divert $2.4 million from wealthier client’s accounts. He sent it to poorer customers whose loan requests had been rejected.

Baschiera said he regretted his scheme. However, he still believes the banking system is failing people.

“I have always thought that in addition to protecting savers, our task was to help those in need.” Baschiera said.