Barclays manager in £3.8m property fraud

A Barclays branch business manager who was sentenced to four years in jail for his involvement with a multimillion pound property fraud gang has been named as Indipaul Sra, according to the Coulsdon and Purley Advertiser.

Sra, 42, reportedly used his position as the Purley branch manager to help the criminal gang launder money. 

A policeman told the Advertiser: “He was the eyes and ears for their money laundering. He would give them the heads-up.

“They would then be ‘cash rich’ when they made those withdrawals and that money would then be available to invest back into the drugs and property empire and often pay people cash in hand.”

Sra, who was found guilty of conspiracy to commit a money laundering offence earlier this year, received a five per cent hand-out every time he helped the gang move their illegal profits into business accounts before withdrawing the money.

The criminal organisation, which was involved with drugs as well as property fraud, would steal homes they had previously scouted out as abandoned or neglected and then sell them on for profit. 

A 64-year old Land Registry employee was also reportedly involved in the fraud – changing the owners’ names on the title deeds so they could be sold on easily.

A Barclays spokesperson told the Advertiser: “Barclays spends a great deal of time and money protecting the interests of our customers and ourselves against the actions of would-be fraudsters. We have a zero tolerance policy towards staff fraud. Where any employee involvement is suspected, individuals will be suspended, investigated and where there is evidence of misconduct, dismissed.”