Bank manager 'took $1m from Dame Kiri'

A bank manager faces multiple charges after Dame Kiri (pictured) had over $1m embezzled from her account. File photo / Martin Sykes

New Zealand opera diva Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has been reimbursed more than US$650,000 ($1,186,781) embezzled from her Californian bank account by a bank manager who appeared in court this morning.

Sokvoeun "Cindy" Sou, 27, faced five fraud charges and one embezzlement charge.

She was remanded in custody until a bail hearing in a few days' time.

Sou was arrested on Tuesday at Bank of Alameda in San Franscisco Bay where she worked as a manager and where Dame Kiri has an Individual Retirement Account.

She had confessed to the crime and said she acted alone, Alameda police detective Greg Ella told Radio New Zealand this morning.

The bank had already reimbursed Dame Kiri, and Sou was looking to make restitution, he said.

Dame Kiri's agent said in a statement this morning that she would not comment on the case now it was before the courts.

Investigators at the bank became suspicious of Sou after a financial adviser for the opera singer noticed five unauthorized withdrawals from the retirement account between last May and earlier this month, Mr Ella said.

Each withdrawal was in the form of a cashier's cheque, including one for US$200,000, and the cheques were made out to Sou's family members.

The InsideBayArea.com website reported that Sou, a San Leandro resident, deposited the cheques into her family's various accounts at a US Bank branch in Alameda, and then transferred money into her own account, according to investigators.

The total loss was about US$651,715.

Mr Ella said Sou told police she was having financial troubles.

"She had purchased a house in San Leandro, she had a child and she owed some family members money."

Police said her family members did not know how Sou got the money that she had deposited into their accounts and were not expected to face charges.

Dame Kiri's international career career spans more than four decades and includes a performance at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

While she officially retired four years ago, the 65-year-old soprano still performs occasional recitals and concerts.

She spend most of her time in England.

The website said her Bay Area connections, which include friends and past performances at the San Francisco Opera, apparently led her to open the account at Alameda.

- NZPA