A shamed City banker jailed for stealing from a le
A shamed City banker jailed for stealing from a leading finance house must repay pnds stlng 130,000 to his former employers or face another two years behind bars.
His high-flying career crashed in February when it was discovered he had manipulated a long running fraud.
An assistant director at merchant bank Schroder’s, Anthony Jackson plundered company funds, utilising the bank’s computer system to move cash into his own account.
The 38-year-old first fell into temptation in a bid to maintain an image of being a man of means – and continued to illicitly treat company money as his own.
In August he was imprisoned for two years for the ‘gross breach of trust.
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Today (Friday) he was back at London’s Southwark Crown Court for a Crown application under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1995.
Judge James Wadsworth, QC, said the defendant benefitted to the tune of pnds stlng 130,000 and must repay the sum or face another two years in prison.
He ordered the money should go to Schroders as compensation.
Ironically, the first pnds stlng 30,000 he transferred under the guise of a legitimate transaction was returned to the financial markets support account – but Jackson continued to operate the long-running scam and by the time he was sacked in February, more than pnds stlng 120,000 was missing.
Jackson, of Clover Avenue, Bishops Stortford, Herts, admitted 12 charges of theft and asked for 33 similar offences to be taken into consideration.
Sentencing him in the summer, Judge James Wadsworth, QC, said: ‘You know perfectly well that the City and the banking system relies on trust and honesty – and above all, it relies on that in-house.
‘The damage that people like you do is very serious indeed.
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The judge said he took into account Jackson’s good character and admissions, and that the bank should recover its cash in full.
Alan Evans, prosecuting, said there had been 46 transfers totalling 153,750 between June 1994 and February this year – the repayment of pnds stlng 30,000 leaving a loss of pnds stlng 123,750.
He said Jackson withdrew pnds stlng 114,475 of that from his account with the merchant bank, a balance of pnds stlng 9,274 being frozen after the defendant was suspended.
Mr Evans said on 41 occasions Jackson used his own ‘unique’ password to effect the transfers on the computer, the remainder later being traced to the defendant following an audit.
He told the court Jackson attempted to cover up the bogus money movements by making references to ‘entirely genuine but unrelated transactions.
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Arrested by City of London Police, Jackson told detectives: ‘Basically there is an account here which I have used as my own personal account.
It was my intention to repay the money.
‘I have the resources to repay it and I have offered to do so.
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Michael Levy, defending, said in some ways it was an ‘unsophisticated’ case of theft as Jackson never sought to use the passwords or identities of the 23 people working under him at the bank.
He said the defendant joined Schroder’s in 1980 and ‘rose through the ranks.
‘In 1994 he was in the process of buying a house and a friend of his late father approached him to borrow some money – he was generally considered to have money because he worked in the City,’ said the barrister.
‘He did not want to turn this person down but was somewhat over-reached financially and took the money.
‘The situation just grew.
He took money as and when required.
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he found away to take money, there were no checks, and he did not have the willpower to stop it.
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Mr Levy added: ‘He must now pay the price.
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The barrister said Jackson could repay pnds stlng 80,000 from the sale of shares, bonds and other assets.
The balance of the debt to his former employers would be met by the sale of his home.
‘The bottom line is Schroder’s will not lose any money as a result, they will be repaid in full.
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ends
