MELVYN HOWE
A gang of businessmen were yesterday convicted of using the takeover of NatWest by Royal Bank of Scotland as cover for stealing more than £15m.
The three fraudsters, including one Scot, realised a "flaw in the system" following the merger meant they could pay in millions of pounds of worthless cheques into bank accounts and draw out the money before officials discovered they had been the victims of fraud on a "grand scale".
By the time the alarm was raised, the missing money had been laundered through a string of companies on its way to eastern Europe.
London's Southwark Crown Court heard the idea for the "sophisticated" fraud came from a letter sent to all customers in the wake of NatWest's takeover by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The letter said administration problems in the takeover meant while funds being paid into accounts would show up on computers as being "cleared on the third working day", they could still bounce.
Jurors heard for customers it was a warning to ensure funds had been properly cleared, but for the dishonest the letter told them it was possible to take out money paid in from a cheque deliberately intended to bounce.
In the dock were Ian Clark, 37, of Nelson Road, Paisley; Darren Lee, 35, of Aintree, Liverpool, and Martin Williams, 29, of Bootle, Merseyside.
Clark argued he had been "duped" by self-confessed fraudster Lee Quincey, while Williams and Lee insisted they had been acting in good faith during what they thought was a transaction, but the jury decided they were lying.
They convicted them of one count of conspiracy to defraud NatWest between January 1 and July 31, 2004. A fourth defendant was cleared of any wrongdoing. Judge Anthony Pitts adjourned sentencing until Monday. Quincey, from Ashton-under-Lyne, admitted the conspiracy and will also be dealt with.
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