Natwest fraud trial: As witness evidence ends, prosecutor recaps charges

GBC News

6 Mar 202403:05

Summary

TLDRThe former senior manager at NatWest, Jillian Balban, faces serious allegations of fraud and false accounting spanning from 2011 to 2017. Prosecutors accuse her of falsifying transactions to conceal a multimillion-pound gap in the bank's cash reserves. Balban vehemently denies the charges, stating it's impossible to recall rationale for entries from years ago. The trial delves into accusations of unauthorized entries, fund transfers between branches, and an alleged attempt to inflate the bank's books before Balban's redundancy. Prosecutors allege Balban cleared debts and covered a £600,000 shortfall, while she maintains her innocence, claiming proper accounting procedures. The trial culminates in closing arguments, where the truth behind the financial discrepancies will be determined.

Takeaways

😲 Jalter, a former senior manager at NatWest, is facing allegations of fraud and false accounting from 2011 to 2017.
💰 The allegations involve falsely accounting for £1.5 million and creating a £2 million gap in NatWest's cash reserves.
🗣️ Jalter denies the allegations, stating it's impossible to remember the rationale behind entries from many years ago.
📝 The prosecution accuses Jalter of falsely authorizing entries to show £1 million was paid into and out of a NatWest branch.
💱 Jalter claims she wouldn't have been involved in certain transactions due to her higher signing limit.
🏦 The prosecution alleges Jalter moved funds between branches to clear £240,000 worth of IOU slips.
🕵️‍♀️ The prosecution suggests Jalter was clearing her debts before leaving the bank on redundancy.
📈 Allegations include inflating the bank's books by £600,000 and using £711,000 in dividends to clear an alleged debt.
✍️ Jalter is accused of crediting checks to her own account instead of passing them to the bank.
💻 Jalter allegedly created a memo falsely explaining a £2 million shortfall as a software migration issue.

Q & A

Who is the former senior manager at NatWest facing allegations?
-The former senior manager at NatWest facing allegations is Jalter (name mentioned in the transcript).
What are the allegations against Jalter?
-Jalter is facing allegations of fraud and false accounting dating back from 2011 to 2017.
How much is Jalter accused of falsely accounting for?
-Jalter is accused of falsely accounting for £1.5 million.
What does the crown allege regarding Jalter's actions?
-The crown alleges that Jalter signed off on false transactions to dishonestly balance the cash reserve and kick forward a hole in an account, which allegedly grew to become a £2 million gap in NatWest's cash reserves.
What is Jalter's defense regarding the allegations?
-Jalter stressed that it is impossible to remember the rationale behind entries from so many years ago, and she maintained throughout that she did not accumulate any IOUs or debit slips.
What other allegations did the crown make against Jalter?
-The crown alleged that Jalter falsely authorized entries that purported to show £1 million had been paid into and then out of the NatWest Corral Road Branch cash reserve, and that she moved funds between branches to clear alleged £240,000 worth of IOU slips.
How did the crown allege Jalter tried to clear her alleged debts before leaving the bank?
-The crown alleged that in the weeks before Jalter left the bank, she asked a cashier to record a purchase of funds as a sale, inflating the bank's books in an attempt to clear an alleged £600,000 worth of IOUs, and when that was unsuccessful, she used £711,000 worth of bank dividends from Jersey to clear her alleged debt.
What was Jalter's response to the allegations regarding clearing debts before leaving the bank?
-Jalter told the prosecutor there were never any IOUs, and he was holding on to things being signed by her.
What was the allegation regarding checks credited to Jalter's account?
-The crown alleged that Jalter credited checks to her own account in exchange for euros instead of passing these on to the bank.
How did Jalter respond to the allegation about creating a memo regarding the £2 million shortfall?
-Jalter said the bank had chosen to write off the £2 million, but this did not mean it was not sat in a suspense account somewhere.

Outlines

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🏦 NatWest Manager Faces Fraud Allegations and False Accounting Charges

The former senior manager at NatWest, Jalter, is facing allegations of fraud and false accounting dating back from 2011 to 2017. The prosecution has presented evidence accusing her of falsely accounting for £1.5 million, signing off on false transactions to balance the cash reserve, and creating a hole that grew to a £2 million gap in NatWest's cash reserves. Jalter has denied these allegations, stating that it is impossible to remember the rationale behind entries from so many years ago. The prosecution also alleges that she falsely authorized entries purporting to show £1 million had been paid into and out of the NatWest Corral Road Branch cash reserve, which she denies, claiming she had a higher limit on the amount she could sign off on.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Fraud

Fraud refers to an intentional act of deception or misrepresentation for the purpose of financial or personal gain. In the context of this video, the former senior manager at NatWest, Jalter, is facing allegations of fraud dating back from 2011 to 2017. The crown accuses her of falsely accounting for transactions, dishonestly balancing cash reserves, and authorizing false entries to cover up a growing gap in the bank's cash reserves.

💡False accounting

False accounting refers to the deliberate manipulation or misrepresentation of financial records, accounts, or transactions. In this case, the crown alleges that Jalter engaged in false accounting by signing off on false transactions, falsely authorizing entries, and creating false memos to cover up discrepancies in the bank's cash reserves. The script mentions specific instances where Jalter is accused of falsely accounting for 1.5 million euros.

💡Cash reserve

A cash reserve is the amount of physical cash or liquid assets that a bank holds to meet its daily operational needs and customer withdrawal requests. According to the crown, Jalter's alleged fraudulent activities led to a growing gap of around 2 million euros in NatWest's cash reserves, which she is accused of attempting to cover up through various means.

💡IOU (I Owe You) slips

IOU slips, or "I Owe You" slips, are informal written promises to repay a debt or obligation at a later date. The crown accuses Jalter of moving funds between bank branches to clear alleged IOU slips worth 240,000 euros, suggesting that she may have accumulated debts or obligations within the bank's internal systems.

💡Redundancy

Redundancy refers to the termination of an employee's job or position, typically due to organizational restructuring or downsizing. The script mentions that the crown alleges Jalter was clearing her debts before she left the bank on redundancy, implying that she may have attempted to cover up any discrepancies or outstanding obligations before her departure.

💡Debit vouchers

Debit vouchers are documents or records that serve as evidence of debit transactions, such as cash withdrawals or transfers from an account. The crown presented debit vouchers accusing Jalter of signing off on false transactions, suggesting that she may have authorized or facilitated unauthorized debits or withdrawals from the bank's accounts.

💡Credit vouchers

Credit vouchers are documents or records that serve as evidence of credit transactions, such as deposits or transfers into an account. In the context of the video, the crown presented credit vouchers accusing Jalter of falsely accounting for credits or deposits, potentially to cover up discrepancies or inflate the bank's financial records.

💡Signing power

Signing power refers to the authority or limit granted to an individual to approve or sign off on financial transactions up to a certain monetary value. Jalter stated that her signature is often on high-value transactions because she had a higher signing power limit, implying that she had the authority to authorize larger transactions within the bank's internal systems.

💡Dividends

Dividends are payments or distributions made by a company to its shareholders, typically from its profits or reserves. The crown alleges that Jalter used 711,000 euros worth of bank dividends from Jersey to clear her alleged debt, suggesting that she may have misappropriated or diverted dividend funds to cover up financial discrepancies.

💡Suspense account

A suspense account is a temporary or holding account used to record transactions temporarily until they can be properly allocated or reconciled. Jalter claimed that the 2 million euro shortfall in the bank's reserves was not lost but rather sat in a suspense account somewhere, implying that the funds were not missing but were temporarily parked in a separate account for further reconciliation or allocation.

Highlights

Jalter, a former senior manager at NatWest, is facing allegations of fraud and false accounting dating back from 2011 to 2017.

The crown accuses Jalter of falsely accounting for £1.5 million and presenting credit and debit vouchers, accusing her of signing off on false transactions to dishonestly balance the cash reserve.

The crown alleges that Jalter's actions led to a £2 million gap in NatWest's cash reserves.

Jalter maintains that it is impossible to remember the rationale behind entries from so many years ago and denies the allegations.

The crown accuses Jalter of falsely authorizing entries that purported to show £1 million had been paid into and then out of the NatWest Corral Road Branch cash reserve.

Jalter claims she wouldn't have been involved in the transactions as she had a higher limit on the amount she could sign off on, and her signature was often on high-value transactions.

The crown accuses Jalter of moving funds between the Linwall Road and Corral Road branches to clear alleged £240,000 worth of IOU slips.

The crown alleges that Jalter was clearing her debts before leaving the bank on redundancy by dishonestly accounting for funds and then putting them back after it was picked up by colleagues.

The crown claims that in the weeks before leaving the bank, Jalter asked a cashier to record a purchase of funds as a sale, inflating the bank's books in an attempt to clear alleged £600,000 worth of IOUs.

The crown alleges that when the previous attempt was unsuccessful, Jalter used £711,000 worth of bank dividends from Jersey to clear her alleged debt.

Jalter denies the existence of any IOUs and claims the prosecutor is holding on to things being signed by her.

Jalter is accused of crediting checks to her own account in exchange for euros instead of passing these on to the bank, but she firmly states that any check credited to her account would have been paid for with her own funds.

The crown alleges that Jalter created a memo days before leaving the bank, falsely explaining a £2 million shortfall in the bank's reserves was due to a software migration issue.

Jalter states that the bank has chosen to write off the £2 million, but this does not mean it was not sitting in a suspense account somewhere.

Closing arguments in the case will begin on Friday.