Two former bank employees who siphoned nearly £1 million from customers’ accounts have been jailed.

Gerald Sarpong, 33, of Chigwell, and Mohammed Uddin, 30, from Bethnal Green, both worked for HSBC bank branches in Birmingham and Notting Hill.

They conspired with other an unknown individual and sent customer account details.

The bank’s security checks spotted the scam which was referred to the dedicated card and payment crime unit- a specialist police team sponsored by the banking and finance industry.

Police arrested Sarpong at the bank’s branch in Edmund Street, Birmingham on July 10, 2018.

Officers searched his desk and seized his digital devices, upon examination of his phone they found messages sent to Uddin containing customer information.

A total £936,565 of fraud was committed between January 2018 and October 2018, Inner London crown court heard on Friday, November 5.

Sarpong was sentenced to five years and 11 months, while Uddin received six years and eight months.

All victims were fully refunded by the bank.

Ben Hobbs, Detective Sergeant of the DCPCU, commented:

“Sarpong and Uddin acted with impunity, thinking they could get away with committing over £900,000 of fraud.

“This case shows that anyone who is caught abusing the trust placed in them by their employer will be punished.”