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Sikh woman accused of bank theft let off by UK court
PTI
Last Updated IST

The case against a British Sikh bank worker accused of stealing over 175,000 pounds from customers in Scotland has collapsed after a paperwork error.

Satnam Kaur was due to go on trial over the allegations centred around the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) at Albyn Place in the Scottish city of Aberdeen last week.

However, a sheriff at Aberdeen Sheriff Court ruled that the paperwork was incompetent as the words "by authority of Her Majesty's Advocate" were missing from the indictment against 30-year-old Kaur, the BBC reported.

The blunder meant the document failed to show that the case had been officially authorised by Scotland's top legal officer.

Kaur, from Aberdeen, was alleged to have taken cash from two accounts while working as a customer adviser for RBS.

It was claimed she withdrew money as euros and deposited a 120,000-pound cheque into her own account.

The court was told that the customers suffered no financial loss as a result of the alleged incidents and she was sacked from her job after the allegations came to light.
Legal staff began working on the case after the bank worker appeared in court and denied the offences earlier this year.

Prosecutors are legally bound to bring a criminal case against an accused person within 12 months and Kaur's time bar ran out on Friday.

Sheriff Graeme Buchanan has refused a motion to extend it stating the Crown had shown a "lack of focus and direction".

RBS did not comment on the case.

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(Published 26 October 2013, 16:17 IST)