‘Final call’ for Reading fraud victims

VICTIMS of a £1bn bank fraud have been urged to share their stories with retired judge Dame Linda Dobbs as she investigates claims of a cover-up.

Business owners who lost money in the scandal at the Reading branch of HBOS are being asked to set out how they were treated, so those who made mistakes can be brought to book.

In the run-up to the financial crisis, a gang of criminal bankers deliberately wrecked entrepreneurs’ businesses and spent the proceeds on prostitutes, holidays and luxury goods. HBOS was then bought by Lloyds in 2008. Dobbs (pictured) is looking at how senior bankers dealt with complaints after that. The gang was eventually jailed in 2017, amid allegations Lloyds had sought to cover up what happened. Victims have claimed that they were stonewalled and bullied by Lloyds when they tried to expose the truth. The bank even repeatedly tried to evict some of those affected from their homes.

Dobbs said: ‘We want to know not only what Lloyds knew but also what it should reasonably have known about the fraud.

‘This is a chance for you to tell your story about how you were treated. It is very important that we can fully assess how you were dealt with in your communications with Lloyds. This message is really a final call to potential witnesses to come forward to assist me and the team.’

Lloyds is funding the Dobbs review as part of an effort to put the past behind it.

She will write a report setting out if there were any failings in how the bank dealt with victims, and who was responsible.

This document will be given to Lloyds, which is likely to come under pressure to make the full details public. Dobbs started work in 2017 and her report has been repeatedly delayed. It is not likely to be finished until next year.