London: An Indian-origin employee of UK`s
Barclays Bank has been jailed for 14 months for fraudulently
siphoning off nearly 17,000 pounds from the accounts of two
customers.
Leicester-based Ajay Gaindher, 26, took 12,450 pounds
from the savings account of a retired couple. He also obtained
4,500 pounds from unauthorised overdrafts on another
customer`s account.
Gaindher pleaded guilty at the Leicester court to
fraudulently obtaining the cash and concealing criminal
property between April and June last year.
Sentencing Gaindher, Judge Michael Pert told him: "You
were in a trusted position and you abused that trust in order
to divert funds on more than 40 occasions through a network of
accounts. These offences strike at the heart of the banking
system. We have to be able to trust people to whom we`ve
entrusted our money."
Mark Bishop, the prosecuting lawyer, said when the
retired couple found out that thousands of pounds had been
looted from their account it caused them stress and worry.
They felt frightened and vulnerable as it was part of
their life savings.
Barclays refunded the full amount, reports from Leicester
said.
Gaindher used a complicated transfer process to take the
money in a series of transactions.
He claimed he had been approached by others to act
dishonestly, but most of the cash went on paying his credit
card debts.
Isobel Wilson, lawyer for Gaindher, said: "He`d worked at
the bank since March 2005 and he lost his job in July 2009 as
a result of these offences. Initially, he was approached by
associates. I`m not saying he was under duress. The initial
idea was put to him and then he went on to transfer the money
to pay his debts."
Wilson added: "Both his parents suffer from ill health
and he`d reduced his hours of work to look after them. He was
struggling financially. He`s deeply ashamed of his actions."
After the hearing, a spokeswoman for Barclays said: "We
have a zero tolerance policy towards staff fraud."
PTI
