A SENIOR banker at bailed-out Lloyds TSB has quit following claims that millions of pounds was channelled to companies set up by a pair of young Indian men he befriended.
Andrew Taylor, 46, resigned citing ‘ill health’ as auditors were sent in to probe the accounts of a firm controlled by the two colleagues.
The British executive, jointly responsible for more than 2,000 Lloyds employees in India, allegedly installed the two employees into well-paid posts in which they were ‘effectively writing cheques to themselves’.
Embarrassingly for the bank – which is 43 per cent owned by the taxpayer – the alleged multimillion pound racket was going on while Lloyds was sacking thousands of British workers to cut costs.
Andrew Taylor with Vijay Bhaskar, left, and Raj Kumar, centre
Embarrassingly for the bank – which is 43 per cent owned by the taxpayer – the alleged multimillion pound racket was going on while Lloyds was sacking thousands of British workers to cut costs.
Mr Taylor, Lloyds head of offshore operations in Bangalore, is alleged to have appointed Vijay Bhaskar and Raj Kumar to run the facilities department, responsible for awarding contracts to Indian companies, above more experienced British colleagues.
The two men are alleged to have started paying tens of thousands of pounds to a Bangalore firm called Professional Touch which supplied rented apartments for Lloyds executives, plus driving and cleaning services.
But unknown to the bank, this company was owned by 29-yearold Mr Bhaskar. All the payments were said to have been sanctioned by Mr Taylor.
Mr Taylor was described as being close friends with the men, and to have shared a hotel room with Mr Bhaskar on holiday at EuroDisney.
He lavished treats on several male employees, and posed in dozens of photographs with his arms around them. He also hosted a series of ‘raucous’ parties at his beach house in the resort of Goa.
A source at the bank’s offices on the Bagmane Tech Park said: ‘Bhaskar made no secret of the fact that he used to be a street boy. He started off as a driver for Lloyds then caught Andrew’s eye
‘Told his mates to claim more’
And was moved in to become the facilities manager alongside Kumar.
‘They were given more power than better qualified staff, but that wasn’t enough. Someone blew the whistle over Bhaskar and Professional Touch, where he was basically writing out cheques to himself.’
‘They were given more power than better qualified staff, but that wasn’t enough. Someone blew the whistle over Bhaskar and Professional Touch, where he was basically writing out cheques to himself.’
Professional Touch won the contract to work with Lloyds unopposed, it is understood.
The general manager of the company confirmed to an undercover reporter that it leased around 20 properties to Lloyds f or between £ 2,000-£ 6,000 a month. He said they had been doing so for the past four years.
Assuming an average leasing charge of £4,000 a month, the turnover from the properties alone over four years is around £4million.
Mr Taylor, who still has the use of a Lloyds TSB company flat and mobile phone while he works his notice, is also alleged to have presided over a lax expenses culture in which some workers were pocketing hundreds of pounds without having to produce receipts.
Mr Taylor, who still has the use of a Lloyds TSB company flat and mobile phone while he works his notice, is also alleged to have presided over a lax expenses culture in which some workers were pocketing hundreds of pounds without having to produce receipts.
One worker claimed: ‘After the bail-out, pay rises were frozen and managers were instructed to keep a tight rein on expenses. But all Andrew did was tell his mates to claim more to make up for losing out on pay rises.’
Lloyds has come under fire for replacing UK staff with cheaper Indian labour in the wake of its bail-out by the UK taxpayer. The bulk of the Indian workers, who earn significantly less than their UK counterparts, help run the bank’s computer systems and payment processing arm.
Asked about the allegations, Mr Taylor confirmed that he had left Lloyds TSB last month due to ill health but declined to comment further.
A spokesman for the bank said: ‘We can confirm that we have been investigating allegations of professional misconduct within a small and non-customer facing team based in Bangalore.’
A spokesman for the bank said: ‘We can confirm that we have been investigating allegations of professional misconduct within a small and non-customer facing team based in Bangalore.’
