Fury at Lloyds as it turns on fraud whistleblowers
Pressure grows on bank bosses over handling of £245million HBOS scandal Going global helps Ted Baker to fashion sales of £296 million
LLOYDS Bank is this weekend under fire for its handling of the HBOS Reading fraud after demanding that the whistleblower couple who exposed the scandal prove yet again that they were victims.
The pair have already handed over a mountain of evidence to the high street lender, which took over HBOS in 2008.
Lloyds stands accused of attempting to cover up the £245million fraud – one of the biggest in British banking history – and of trying to fob off the scores of owners of small firms who lost their livelihoods.
The bank has sparked new fury by writing to Paul and Nikki Turner, who first publicised the wrongdoing, calling for them to hand over more proof that they had suffered at the hands of the notorious Reading branch of HBOS.
However, the Turners have already supplied hundreds of documents to Lloyds over the course of more than a decade. Critics say the bank’s demand typifies its obstructive attitude.
Banking sources say that although current boss Antonio Horta-Osorio was not at the helm at the time of the scandal, he is under increasing pressure due to his treatment of the victims.
A number of them – including TV star Noel Edmonds who is claiming £300million from Lloyds over the collapse of his Unique Group of businesses – say Horta-Osorio has refused to meet them. Many are furious at what they see as the bank’s high-handed behaviour.
One banking insider said: ‘Antonio has taken a dismissive approach hoping they will go away, but it has backfired.’
Lloyds has come in for harsh criticism from Thames Valley police commissioner Anthony Stansfeld, who investigated the case. He said: ‘If it hadn’t been for the unearthing of evidence by victims and whistleblowers within the bank much would not have come to light. The treatment of whistleblowers and the huge legal pressure they were then put under by the banks’ lawyers has been disgraceful.’
Lloyds has set aside £100million to compensate victims through a review led by Professor Russel Griggs. But victims say the bank is dragging its feet on payouts and the process is not independent. The Turners’ music business, Zenith, was devastated by corrupt bankers more than a decade ago. The couple said the treatment of them was at the heart of the criminal case where the rogue bankers were convicted, so Lloyds already has piles of definitive evidence. In January, six bankers and consultants were jailed for defrauding businesses and spending the proceeds on sex, holidays, parties and superyachts. Nikki Turner told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We have sent first HBOS and then Lloyds numerous letters and documents and it took them until the beginning of this year to accept the truth. This is either severe incompetence or cynical prevarication by Lloyds.’ The bank says it accepts that the Turners were victims but that it needs them to detail how they were defrauded because the pair have not formally issued a legal claim against them. Lloyds said: ‘Where we are engaging with customers through an alternative dispute resolution process we need them to set out their personal experiences ... in their own words in the greatest possible detail. ‘The independent mediator will review this position statement and the group’s response and consider the impact on the customer.’ FASHION darling Ted Baker has stitched up another increase in profits as plans to create a global fashion business begin to pay off, the company is expected to say this week.
It has opened stores in dozens of countries from Australia to Azerbaijan and now makes a third of its revenue outside Europe.
Scott Ransley, an analyst at broker Stifel, said he expects the firm to say on Tuesday that profit in the six months to the end of July increased 13 per cent to £24.3million.
Group sales rose 14 per cent to £296million, around £100million of which came from its own shops and concessions in other stores outside the UK and Europe, he forecasts.
The company’s success has been driven by the eccentric chief executive Ray Kelvin, who is often described as ‘the closest man to Ted’. Many familiar with the fashion firm say over the past 30 years the executive and the imaginary Ted Baker have become almost indistinguishable.
The company is worth £1.2billion after the shares fell by about a quarter in the past two years. But Ransley said: ‘Ted Baker has already proved its international growth credentials and is a unique premium brand that is less vulnerable to mainstream online competition.’