Bank manageress ordered to 
pay back funds from robbery

Rachael Shariar-Namini is serving a 12-year sentence after she provided inside information which helped her boyfriend and an accomplice carry out the robbery of the Nat West bank in Hunslet. Leeds.

The heist - in March 2010 - was the biggest bank hold-up in West Yorkshire for 10 years. She provided boyfriend William Wormald with a “robber’s guide” which detailed the lay-out of the branch.

Shariar-Namini, now 25, appeared before Leeds Crown Court yesterday beside Wormald for a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The court heard Shariar-Namini, Wormald, 26, and another man, Darren Ashcroft, 39, each benefitted to the tune of £40,076 from the raid.

Shariar Namini, of Victoria Avenue, Rothwell, has £10,394 in assets that can be seized, mainly from two bank accounts she holds and the sale of her car.

She was ordered to pay the sum within three months or face having six months added to her sentence.

The available assets for Wormald, of Cranewells View, Colton, were set at £3,489, which he must pay with 28 days. The money seized from the pair will be paid directly to NatWest as compensation.

The court heard Ashcroft, 39, of Penwell Dean, Swarcliffe, has no available assets and he was ordered to repay the nominal figure of just £1.

A fourth man, David Cowie, 32, also of Penwell Dean, was judged to have benefitted by £10,000 from the conspiracy and was also ordered to pay the sum of £1.

Shariar-Namini was found guilty of the robbery by a jury in August 2010. Wormald, and Ashcroft carried out the heist and were each jailed for eight years after both admitted robbery.

Cowie admitted robbery by allowing his car to be used in the raid and was jailed for five years.

During the trial, the jury heard Shariar-Namini provided Wormald with information about cash handling procedures, the best time to strike and the best point of entry at the branch – through the flat roof over the women’s toilet on the first floor.

Ashcroft, who like Wormald was a part-time doorman, arranged to use Cowie’s car and the pair completed their entry through the roof

With their faces covered with masks,they walked down the stairs, one holding a crowbar, and surprised the staff before escaping through a fire door.