Loughton incinerator thefts
The Bank of England Printing Works, where the thefts took place
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| Date | c. April 1988 – c. March 1992[1] |
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| Location | Loughton, Essex |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Participants |
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| Outcome | Between £600,000–£700,000 stolen |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions | Winwright sentenced to 18 months in prison; remaining participants ordered to repay £500,000 to the bank |
The Loughton incinerator thefts occurred between 1988 and 1992 at the Bank of England's incinerator plant in Loughton, Essex – four employees of the plant stole more than GB£600,000 in a series of regular thefts. The four participants and their spouses were arrested in 1992, with only one being prosecuted in criminal court. In a civil suit, the remaining members of the group were ordered to repay half a million pounds to the bank. The story of the case has been adapted into two feature-length films.
Contents
Thefts
Between 1988 and 1992, four employees of the Bank of England's incinerator plant in Loughton conspired to steal in a series of thefts more than £600,000 worth of banknotes that were due to be destroyed.[2] One participant, Christine Gibson, smuggled the notes out of the plant by stuffing them into her underwear.[3] Gibson initially worked in collaboration with just two other employees, Kenneth Longman and Michael Nairne, before the trio were approached and joined by a fourth individual, Kevin Winwright, who acted as their "look-out" and distracted the guards.[4] During this time, the group and their spouses lived a "life of Riley", spending their gains on expensive cars, motorcycles and jewellery.[5]
Arrest and trial
The group was brought to the attention of the police after Gibson's husband, Peter, attempted to make a deposit of £100,000 at the Ilford branch of the Reliance Mutual Insurance Society entirely in 20- and 50-pound notes – soon after, Nairne attempted to make a deposit of £30,000 at the same branch.[3] All four colleagues and their respective partners were soon arrested, but only Winwright was prosecuted – he admitted to stealing £170,000 from the plant and received an 18-month prison sentence.[3]
The six remaining participants were tried at the High Court of Justice in April 1994. The case, Bank of England v Gibson, was overseen by Judge Norman Rudd, with Winwright giving evidence on behalf of the bank.[3] After a two-week trial, Rudd delivered his judgment on 26 April 1994, ordering the three families to repay more than half a million pounds to the bank.[1] As no witnesses who had given evidence in the High Court were willing to speak to the police, all three couples escaped criminal convictions.[5]
Film adaptations
The story of the thefts was adapted into two films: first in 2001 as Hot Money, a television movie made for ITV starring Caroline Quentin,[6] then again as Mad Money, a 2008 film based on ITV's production, starring Diane Keaton.[7]
Similar crime
A similar crime was committed in 2000, when two bank clerks stole 110 sacks of notes valued at £23,000 that were due to be incinerated – the two participants were sent to prison for six and nine months respectively.[8]
See also
References
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- Bank of England v Gibson at Law Index Pro (subscription required)
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