Barclays Bank cashiers jailed for raiding accounts of the dead in £150,000 con

Two Barclays Bank trainee cashiers have been jailed for a total of eight years for raiding accounts of the dead, elderly and those living abroad for £150,000.

Waseem Ahmed, 22, and Hodaif Nadeem, also 22, became increasingly brazen while working at the branches in Slough and Bracknell, Berkshire.

Starting in April 2017, the pair transferred large sums from customers’ accounts, targeting those who were older or expats, into ‘mule’ accounts, Reading Crown Court heard.

But they were rumbled when Ahmed pulled £40,000 out of a dead man’s account, sparking an investigation by Barclays and then by Thames Valley Police.

Waseem Ahmed, 22, and Hodaif Nadeem, also 22, were working as Barclays apprentice cashiers at branches in Slough and Bracknell, Berkshire

A spokesman for the force said: ‘During the last week of July 2017 both Ahmed and Nadeem each opened another five bank accounts at different banks.

‘These remained largely inactive until September 2017 when Ahmed’s accounts were used to funnel £29,030 of stolen funds to other bank accounts. The accounts opened by Nadeem were not used.

‘The matter came to light after Ahmed conducted just over £40,000 worth of transactions from the account of a deceased man.’

The pair were also found to have conducted fraudulent transactions over the counter, with thousands being handed over to people who were not the account holders. 

Ahmed was arrested in August 2017, while Nadeem was arrested in January 2018.   

Ahmed, of Slough, was jailed for four-and-half years after he was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud, one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property by means of fraudulent money transfers and one count of unauthorised access to a computer.

Nadeem, also of Slough, was jailed for thee-and-a-half years after he was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property by means of fraudulent money transfers. 

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Rob Gibson said: ‘The sentences handed down by the court reflect the seriousness of the crimes committed. As bank employees they were meant to look after the interests of the bank and its customers; their actions completely betrayed that trust and caused distress to a number of customers.

‘Although the means used to select their victims was never established, they were generally elderly and, or based overseas customers. Ahmed and Nadeem had full access to customers’ bank accounts and there was nothing that the victims could have done to prevent their accounts being defrauded.

The pair were rumbled when Ahmed pulled £40,000 out of a dead man’s account, sparking an investigation by Barclays and then by Thames Valley Police (stock image)

‘The most despicable act concerned Ahmed who raided the bank account of a man whom he knew was deceased, thereby holding up probate for his grieving relatives.

‘During the early part of August 2017, Ahmed obtained the work login details for a former colleague which he intended to use to commit further frauds. Thankfully, this colleague alerted the bank which prevented any further loss to customers,’ said the detective.

‘Despite being caught out by their employers and despite having been arrested, Ahmed committed further offences by allowing bank accounts he held in his name to be used to funnel several thousand pounds worth of stolen funds. It was clear the accounts owned by Nadeem had been opened for the same purpose.

‘During the trial Ahmed and Nadeem both claimed they were under duress while committing these offences, but this was rejected by the jury who found them unanimously guilty.

‘The defendants had ample opportunity to tell the police if they were being threatened, yet they did not raise this as a defence until January this year.’