Bank clerk who stole from elderly clients goes on the run

16 March 2010 5:09 pm | By Leah Milner

The City of London Police is appealing for anyone who has information about the whereabouts of Bindi Dhanji (pictured) since Tuesday lunchtime to contact them on 020 7601 2121.

Between 2005 and 2008 Dhanji, from Watford, took close to £60,000 from a pensioner’s account after hearing that due to ill health she had moved to France to be with her family.

At the same time Dhanji was also stealing from a second elderly client.

Working from a west London branch the bank clerk gained the trust of the woman in her 80s and siphoned off the money from her savings account.

The victim considered Dhanji, 32, to be a friend – even bringing her gifts of flowers and chocolates.

The first woman died in France in February 2008 but her family did not notify the bank until ten months later, at which point the account was suspended. In between death and notification Dhanji continued to make cash withdrawals from the victim’s savings.

In April 2009 the family complained to the bank after Dhanji’s continued to refuse them access to statements and account details. While uncovering this fraud HSBC also identified irregularities in the savings of Dhanji’s second elderly victim.

One month later the bank clerk confessed to both crimes, claiming a man had threatened her with violence unless she gave him regular cash payments. She also told how she had targeted the women because she thought their bank statements would not be properly checked.

HSBC reimbursed the accounts of both victims and following a City of London Police investigation Dhanji pleaded guilty to two counts of theft from an employer totalling £118,000.

City of London Police detective constable Malcolm Jolly says: “Bindi Dhanji has admitted to committing a serious crime and now needs to face the judge and receive her punishment in full. If she sees this appeal I would urge her to turn herself in.  

“Anyone who has seen her since she disappeared from court or knows of her whereabouts should also call us as soon as possible.”

Dhanji appears to have used the stolen money to put down an £80,000 deposit on a house in Watford.

The investigation found she rented this property to a member of her family while continuing to share a room with her husband at her parent’s house.

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