TORONTO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Canadian federal police

charged a former Royal Bank of Canada employee in Ottawa

with allegedly accessing banking profiles of senior political

leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The accused, Ibrahim El-Hakim, was charged with fraud,

unauthorized use of a computer, identity theft and trafficking

in identity information, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said

on Wednesday. RCMP opened an investigation in early July

following a complaint from RBC, the country's biggest bank.

El-Hakim was allegedly using the bank's internal IT systems

to access personal information without authorization and

committed fraud by sharing the information, RCMP said.

El-Hakim, 23, was allegedly lured by a scheme on social

media platform Telegram that paid him C$500 ($360) for each

order to extend credit lines or other activities, according to

La Presse, which first reported the news.

El-Hakim and his legal representative did not immediately

respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

An RBC spokesperson said El-Hakim was no longer employed at

the bank.

"We can share that we independently identified unauthorized

system access, took immediate action to engage authorities... We

worked closely with law enforcement to support their

investigation," the RBC spokesperson said.

"Since the investigation involves the Prime Minister of

Canada, it has been assigned to the Integrated National Security

Enforcement Team," RCMP said, declining to comment on whether

El-Hakim was part of a criminal organization.

RCMP's investigation did not show that there was any threat

to the prime minister's safety or to national security in this

case, it said.

El-Hakim was arrested on July 10 and released on a promise

to appear with conditions. Further charges may be laid, RCMP

said.

Canada is preparing for an audit by Paris-based global

financial crime watchdog Financial Action Task Force in

November, which will include an assessment of the country's

systems in place to reduce financial crime.

($1 = 1.3892 Canadian dollars)