Fraudster Posed As Businessman To Scam Chiswick Metro Bank

Caught after withdrawing £30,000 in cash helped by bank cashier accomplice

A fraudster who disguised himself as a businessman with an overcoat, trilby and briefcase as he pulled off a £30,000 bank scam in Chiswick, has been jailed.

Saifur Rahman, 24, also put on a tie and dark-rimmed spectacles to try to hide his identity as he carried out the illegal transaction at a Metro Bank branch in Chiswick in 2017.

He was caught on camera approaching his accomplice, bank cashier Tanzil Hussain, to request two cash withdrawals from an account totalling £30,000, the Evening Standard reports.

Inner London crown court heard that 26-year-old Hussain, was in on the scam and had agreed to bypass the usual customer identification procedures so that they could raid a customer’s account.

However, the withdrawals on October 27, 2017, were flagged as fraudulent by the bank and reported to police officers from the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), leading to their arrest.

Tanzil Hussein

Saifur Rahman made two withdrawals while he was in disguise, totalling £30,000. Police discovered the brown trilby, a blue overcoat with distinctive fur collar as well as the tie, glasses and briefcase in his car. He had kept transaction receipts for the £30,000 cash withdrawals and had other paperwork relating to the victim’s bank account.

Hussain’s home was searched and £5,000 was found hidden in his wardrobe there.

Bank cashier Tanzil Hussain helped Rahman make the withdrawals. The court jailed Hussain for nine months and Rahman was sentenced to eight months behind bars.

Detective Constable Dave Cass, who investigated the case for the card crime unit, said afterwards, “These two individuals went to great lengths to plan and organise this fraud, using a disguise to try and hide the identity of Rahman.

“Today’s sentencing shows that anyone who is caught abusing the trust placed in them by their employer will be punished along with those who try to help them.”

Hussain, of Kensington, and Rahman, from Camden, had both pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud.

January 26, 2019