Police have charged two Malaysians over the alleged theft of $35,000 from bank accounts belonging to four missing MH370 flight passengers, according to a CNN report.

A HSBC bank officer and her mechanic husband face charges after transferring money between passengers’ accounts and using a debit card belonging to a passenger to withdraw money.

• New hope in MH370 search
• MH370 families offer $5m reward for information

It is alleged the 33-year-old woman used fake documents to apply for a bank card under a Chinese passenger’s name.

The woman, who has pleaded not guilty, is also accused of making applications to transfer money from savings accounts belonging to another Chinese passenger and a Malaysia Airlines flight attendant.

The pair have been released on bail and ordered to surrender their passports, with their next hearing on August 25.

New attempts to find the plane, which was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, will begin in September in a new search area off the Western Australian coast.