Two former managers at Bradford branch of Natwest jailed for sophisticated £350,000 fraud

The conspiracy, which could have netted the criminals up to £500,000, involved the authorisation of bogus business loans and the use of stolen identities of innocent people.

Anzar Hussain, 43, of Rayner Avenue, Girlington, Bradford, only got a job with the bank bank in the late 1990s after he failed to reveal details of his previous convictions during the application process, but following his subsequent promotion to the post of business manager he became "the leading light" behind the scam.

Hussain's so-called "banking buddy" James Clegg, 34, of Storths Road, Huddersfield, processed 14 fraudulent business loans totalling £350,000 and created six more customer profiles which could have cost the bank another £150,000 if they had been successful.

Bradford Crown Court heard that in fact the bank lost around £290,000 as a result of the loans scam and today Hussain, Clegg and nine other people were sentenced at the end of a 22-month inquiry which involved thousands of pages of documentary evidence and four separate trials.

Judge Jonathan Rose jailed Hussain for a total of six years and three months for offences of conspiracy to defraud and obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.

The judge noted that at the time of the offending in 2010 Hussain and his family enjoyed a "very comfortable" standard of living due to his position at the bank and the only conclusion to draw was that his crimes were motivated by greed.

Judge Rose said Hussain had used Clegg as a "shield" by getting his colleague to complete the loan applications in case the fraud plot came unstuck.

Clegg, who had no previous convictions, was jailed for four years for his role in the scam and Judge Rose said the case was an illustration of how bank security could be significantly undermined from the inside by determined and intelligent employees motivated by greed.

The police investigation into the scam was assisted back in April 2012 when a woman found a bin-liner containing dumped banking documents in her wheelie bin.

Prosecutor Chris Smith described the find as "a treasure trove of evidence" and Judge Jonathan Rose said the woman who handed over the bin liner was to be applauded for her action.

Mr Smith said the £25,000 figure was used for each bogus business loan because that was maximum amount which could be authorised by Hussain and Clegg at a local level.

"These were loans being sought in the identities of genuine people," said Mr Smith.

"In many cases identities were stolen and the conspirators, in our submission, gave no thought as to the consquences that would befall those people.

"Significant inconvenience was caused to people trying to unpick the loans obtained (in their names)."

The court heard that some people were arrested and interviewed about the loans while others were pursued by debt recovery companies.

Mr Smith submitted that Hussain played a "pivotal role"" while Clegg did his bidding.

Judge Rose today highlighted the impact on some of the innocent people caught up in the scam including a man with a learning disability who had endured the "dreadful ordeal" being arrested and interviewed.

Another man whose identity was used in the scam raised his concern at the bank, but had the misfortune to be seen by Hussain and Clegg.

"Unsurprisingly they were entirely unhelpful in rectifying the situation," noted Judge Rose.

The judge said Clegg was a man with weaknesses, in particular his use of cannabis, and he accepted that Hussain had embroiled him in the crime.

Brothers Arfan Shah, 37, of Queens Rise, Bolton, Bradford, and Imran Shah, 39, of Broadwell Drive, Shipley, received jaile terms of four years and five years respectively for their roles in providing documentation, correspondence addresses and companies to launder the cash.

Choudhary Zeb, 40, of Birch Grove, Bankfoot, Bradford, also played a central role in the conspiracy, but he was given a reduced prison sentence of 18 months after he admitted his involvement and gave evidence during the trial of his co-accused.

Sarvjit Singh, 52, and his 33-year-old wife Jaswinder Kaur, both of Chelwood Drive, Allerton, Bradford, allowed their details to be used in fraudulent loan applications.

Singh had his six-month jail term suspended for two years and he was ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work for the community.

His wife was made the subject of a 12-month community order with 100 hours unpaid work.

Liaquat Mahmood, 53, of Leeds Old Road, Thornbury, Bradford, was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work after he was involved in a separate NatWest fraud with Hussain.

Imran Mirza, 35, of Thirkhill Court, West Bowling, Bradford, was jailed for 15 months after he was involved in the laundering of money obtained using stolen cheques and Amber Hussain, 26, of Waverley Road, Horton Grange, Bradford, was given a two-year community order and told do 180 hours unpaid work for a similar offence relating to one stolen cheque.

Shahid Iqbal, 42, of Alfred Street, Bury, was given a two-year community order, with 200 hours unpaid work, after he was involved in one of the bogus business loans.

At the conclusion of the case Judge Rose commended the work of Detective Constable Christopher Hargreaves who had been responsible for much of the complex investigation work.

Ramona Senior, head of West Yorkshire Police's Economic Crime Unit, said: "The sentencing of these 11 persons today represents the end of a significant and long running operation to unpick a sophisticated scam organised by Anzar Hussain and James Clegg in which they and co-conspirators stole hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"Their actions represent an enormous abuse of the trust placed in them by their employers and they richly deserve the sentences given to them today.  "Anzar Hussain and James Clegg utterly failed to meet the standards of honesty and integrity we have a right to expect from persons who work in our banks and their co-conspirators are equally complicit in this fraud.

"Throughout the investigation officers from the ECU worked very closely with fraud investigators from within the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, who provided valuable assistance to the police."

She added:   "We will now be starting Proceeds of Crime Act Proceedings against each of these persons to ensure they will not profit from their criminal gains."

A NatWest spokesperson said: "We cannot comment on specific cases, however, we take fraud extremely seriously and we are constantly working to make our processes more secure."