NatWest branch manager who stole £344,000 from ATMs given suspended sentence

John Toms, 44, had exclusive access to ATMs and helped himself to cash at the Moorgate branch between January 2016 and April 2024.

To cover his trail, he switched money from elsewhere in the branch before quarterly checks were carried out by senior members of staff, Southwark Crown Court heard.

He avoided detection by waking up early and creeping into the branch to switch the money back into the bank registers, which were checked daily. He also forged his colleagues’ signatures when he needed to balance the books for the ATMs.

In total £344,410 was left unaccounted for following an internal investigation and reconciliation at the Moorgate branch.

Toms did make attempts to repay the cash, and the losses now add up to £249,735.

He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two yearst.