Accountant ‘plundered’ firm’s funds for gambling

AN ACCOUNTANT “plundered” the finances of a Leeds electronics company and stole over £700,000 to fund his addiction to gambling.

Jamal Haider was jailed for 40 months over the offending which was carried out while he was entrusted to look after the finances at Wortley-based MechTronic Ltd.

Leeds Crown Court heard Haider used “ingenious” methods to hide his offending over a ninemonth period in 2016.

Camille Morland, prosecuting, said Haider falsified invoices then arranged for payments to be made from his employer’s bank account into his own account and the account of his friend.

All of the stolen funds were later transferred to him.

The defendant then altered spreadsheets to hide the deception.

The court heard Haider stole a total of £744,508 before the offending came to light.

An investigation was launched after Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs contacted the company over an unpaid VAT bill for £52,000.

The 36-year-old was arrested but refused to comment.

A company director provided a victim statement to the court describing how the offending had put a strain on the business.

Haider, now of Greenrigg Road, Cumbernauld, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to two offences of theft from employer.

Haider went on commit offences of theft and forgery after getting a job at a firm of solicitors in Morley.

Shufqat Khan, mitigating, said: “Almost every penny he was obtaining through this offending was gambled away.”

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC said: “It was quite an ingenious way of covering up theft.

“You were able to plunder increasingly large sums of money.”