R v. F - Southwark Crown Court
We represented the general manager of a well-known bank based in the City of London.
Our client had been with the bank for many years, starting as a cashier and moving up through the ranks to the position of general manager in the flagship branch based in the City of London. Our client had a adamant belief in customer service and service values and had carried this through her career in the banking industry. Although not within the usual business protocols, our client would act as a "personal banker" for the banks high profile clients. One such client was a celebrity who had the personal contact details of our client and was in the habit of telephoning and contacting our client at any time during the day or night to resolve personal banking issues. Our client was always more than happy to assist.
After a routine internal audit, the bank's audit department discovered irregularities on the banks information systems that were maintained manually at the time. After an internal investigation, the bank concluded that the general manager had behaved in a way that was fraudulent and alleged to have falsified banking records and benefited from her activities. Our client had always denied this and in her defence had raised the pressure she was under by her superiors to ensure that high profile clients were retained. The bank suspended our client pending the outcome of a criminal trial. If convicted, and due to her position of trust and responsibility in the bank, she would have received a very substantial prison sentence.
On trial and the jury had no hesitation in returning not guilty verdicts on all counts of fraud, forgery and false accounting.
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