A Canberra man stands accused of stealing almost $1 million from bank accounts over a three year period.

What started as a police investigation into a theft of $17,000 from a corporate account turned into a $1 million money trail.

ACT Policing unravelled a series of suspicious bank transactions between November 2008 and February 2012 totalling $987,000.

Police allege a 52-year-old man from Forde in Canberra's north was the sole beneficiary of the the fraudulent transactions.

They executed eight search warrants on the man's house and bank accounts which were allegedly used to move the stolen funds.

The man is summonsed to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court on January 25.