Kevin John Pinto, a 37-year-old investment executive has been charged with 10 counts of robbery.

The vice president and compliance officer at Paradigm Capital is accused of walking into the main branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto’s financial district on September 12 – just a block away from where he negotiated trades and deals – standing in the queue, smiling, and chatting up the bank teller before demanding money. A bank executive said the robber “was as bold as blazes. He never tried to hide from the cameras that are obviously trained on the tellers. It happened right over the lunch hour.”

A suspect had been wanted for at least 21 similar bank robberies spanning six years from Toronto’s suburbs to Niagara Falls. Police said the suspect would sometimes say he had a gun though he never produced a weapon. The robber was nicknamed ‘Exchange Bandit’ by police because he always exchanged polite banter with the teller before saying he wanted money. The robber never wore a mask and only ever used a baseball cap as a disguise.

The Canadian Bankers Association offered a C$10,000 (£5,200) reward and issued three bank surveillance photos from the September 12 robbery. Pictures ran on television and in newspapers, and since the man was recognisable, police received calls straight away.

You gotta give this guy credit, at least there was some element of “risk” to his illegal activity.