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POLTD/0506/ 0336
Theft /False Accounting
Name: Oyeteju Adedayo
Rank: Subpostmaster Identification 3
Code:
Office: Rainham Road SPOB FAD Code 098 941
Age: 41 Years 5 Date of Birth:
Monthhs
Service: 6 Years 4 Date Service 20/05/1999
Months Commenced:
Personnel Printout: At Appendix: C
Nat Ins No: GRO I
Home Address:
Suspended/Contract 5 September 2005 on the authority of Contracts
for Services and Service Manager Carol Ballan
Suspended:
To be prosecuted by: Royal Mail Group (including Post Office Ltd)
Designated Tony Utting, National Investigation Manager
Prosecution Authority:
Discipline Manager: Keith Long Contracts and Service Manager
Corporate Security Criminal Law Team
The brief circumstances leading to the suspension and interview of the
offender named in the preamble are as follows;
On Monday 5 September 2005 Branch Auditor Mr Deepak VALANI attended
Rainham Road Sub Post Office Branch (SPOB) FAD 098 941 to conduct a
routine cash and stock verification audit. The audit resulted in a shortage of
£52,864.08, after which this section was informed.
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Mr VALANI reported that the Subpostmaster of Rainham Road SPOB Mrs
Oyeteju ADEDAYO had informed him, prior to the commencement of the
audit, that the accounts would be approximately £50k short. Mrs ADEDAYO
wrote a note to that effect a copy of which is associated at Appendix C.
Arrangements were made that morning for Investigation Manager Mr Adrian
MORRIS and I to attend Rainham Road SPOB. On arrival at the office I
introduced my colleague and myself to Mrs ADEDAYO and explained the
nature of the enquiry. Mrs ADEDAYO agreed to a voluntary interview.
At 14.18 on 5 September 2005 at Rainham Road SPOB I commenced a
taped recorded interview with Mrs ADEDAYO. Also present was Mr
MORRIS. Following the introductions Mrs ADEDAYO was cautioned. Forms
CS001side A and CS003 were completed and signed accordingly, copies of
which are now associated at Appendix B and C respectively. It can be seen
that Mrs ADEDAYO refused the offer of a solicitor and a friend.
Mrs ADEDAYO has been employed at Rainham Road SPOB since May
1999. Also employed at the office is a
manages the post office for the majority of the time. Mrs ADEDAYO only
works on Wednesdays to complete the balancing, which is done with Joan.
Mrs ADEDAYO maintained that she would only work in the post office during
the week to cover Joan, if she had an appointment.
At the start of the interview Mrs ADEDAYO was given the opportunity to
explain why there was a shortage of £52k in the post office accounts. She
explained that when she purchased the business 6 years ago she borrowed
£50k from friends/family on the understanding that when she became
financially settled she would repay the loan. She further explained that when
her creditors became aware that she had sold her previous property
(Berkshire) in 2003 they began to put pressure on her.
By June 2005 Mrs ADEDAYO claimed that her creditors were no longer
willing to wait and the situation turned “nasty”. She claimed that her plan was
to request more time from them in order for her to re mortgage the flat above
the post office for £50k and repay the loan. Since this proposal was
unacceptable to them Mrs ADEDAYO claimed that she approached Joan and
informed her of her predicament. She then decided to use £10k of post
office funds as an interim payment until the re mortgage of the property was
finalised. Her plan was to then repay £10k to the post office and repay £40k
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to her creditors. Again, unwilling to wait, her creditors returned on two further
occasions during July and August 2005 when she again used post office
funds to repay the loan, £20k being given to them on each occasion. She
explained that as the office is self-sufficient she did not have to order extra
cash; instead she returned less cash to the cash centre.
When Mrs ADEDAYO was asked about any alternative arrangements that
she had considered for repaying the loan, she stated that a short-term loan
would have been too expensive. Mrs ADEDAYO admitted that she could
have repaid the loan from the sale her Berkshire property but instead
purchased a house in Chatham, as the living conditions in the flat above the
post office did not meet the needs of her family.
Mrs ADEDAYO was also asked how she benefited from using the post office
funds. She claimed that her only benefit was being rid of her creditors. She
understood however, that by using post office funds she had saved herself
the cost of a short-term loan and therefore had benefited.
During the interview Mrs ADEDAYO stated that she had considered
contacting the retail line to inform them of her predicament. When asked why
she did not contact them, she stated that she feared losing her job.
Mrs ADEDAYO was showed the cash accounts for cash account periods
(CAP’s) 10, 15 and 20 (weeks ending 1 June 2005, 6 July 2005 and 10
August 2005 respectively). She admitted that the cash figures declared on
the cash accounts had been inflated and were therefore false figures. She
admitted that she signed the cash accounts and understood the significance
of this. Copies of the cash accounts are associated at Appendix B.
Mrs ADEDAYO acknowledged that the money belonged to the post office but
claimed that she did not steal the funds with a criminal mind; her intention
was to repay the post office. She confirmed that she was aware of section
twelve of the Subpostmasters contract that forbids the use of post office
funds.
Towards the end of the interview Mrs ADEDAYO was asked to explain what
the individual letters on the hand written cash declarations represented. Mrs
ADEDAYO explained that the letter for example “T” refers to “Taken”. She
claimed that the figure alongside the letter T includes the amount of cash she
had used and also included the cash held in the office. When she was asked
to explain the other letters that appeared on the hand written cash
declarations she maintained that they did not really stand for anything but
were there to indicate where the cash was being held in the office. Copies of
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the hand written cash declarations referred to during the interview are now
associated at Appendix B.
Mrs ADEDAYO gave authority to examine her bank accounts and the
relevant form was left with her to complete.
At the end of the interview Mrs ADEDAYO was asked if she was in a position
to repay the £50k. Mrs ADEDAYO stated that as soon as the re mortgage is
finalised she will repay the full amount of the audit discrepancy. She also
stated that she would forward relevant paperwork to show that she applied
for a re mortgage in June 2005.
The interview was concluded at 15.51. I have since prepared a summary of
the interview, a copy of which is now enclosed at pages 6 to 24 of these
papers.
In my opinion the explanation that Mrs ADEDAYO has given for the shortage
is not entirely believable. She was unwilling to provide the names and details
of her creditors; she had no proof of a loan and did not obtain any receipts for
the £50k she repaid. She informed us that Joan had never seen her
creditors as Mrs ADEDAYO, on the three occasions that her creditors came
to the office, took the cash to them as they were waiting in a car outside the
Office.
Mrs ADEDAYO’s explanation for the letters written alongside various values
on the hand written cash declarations is also unbelievable. In my opinion
there seems little point to identifying amounts that include the cash held in
the office. I have since examined further hand written cash declarations
contained within the weekly documents and the letters that are used are
always the same, which indicates that they must represent something. On
some of the declarations there appear to be names in brackets instead of an
individual letter.
During the interview Mrs ADEDAYO stated that £7k to £10k would normally
be held in the office on a Wednesday evening and that anything above that
amount would be returned to the cash centre. During the audit cash
accounts for CAP’s 10 to 22 (26 May 2005 to 24 August 2005) were
retrieved. The cash figures declared on each cash account is in excess of
£10k. I have requested the cash accounts from Chesterfield, which might
give an indication as to how long the shortage has been in the account, as I
suspect that the shortage has been there for much longer than Mrs
ADEDAYO would like me to believe.
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Given the admissions made by Mrs ADEDAYO there is no reason why she
should not be charged with false accounting.
A report giving brief details of this case has been emailed to S & A casework
to forward to Contract and Service Manager Mr Keith LONG for necessary
action.
The working tape of the interview is associated at Appendix B. The Master
tape has been retained by me.
The exhibits in this case are retained by myself and stored at the Croydon
Investigation Office.
This case is submitted for the current position to be seen and noted and for
consideration to the next course of action. It may be agreed that the papers
be referred to Corporate Security Criminal Law Team for advice on the
sufficiency of evidence in this matter with regards to prosecution.
Natasha Bernard
Investigation Manager
"8 September 2005
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