Jockeys across the UK are being told to move their money away from High Street banks due to unexplained fraudulent activity going back as far as 2014.
The BBC today reported that around £200,000 has been stolen from near to 30 riders around the country. The Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) has issued a warning, saying that jockeys should move their funds away from High Street banks in light of this.
It is thought that the money has been taken in face-to-face encounters within the banks, with money being withdrawn over the counter using fake documents.
The PJA has announced that there have been a number of seemingly sporadic frauds committed since 2014, when £50,000 was taken from the accounts of a number of jockeys.
Paul Struthers, Chief Executive of the PJA, said that in each case the money had been taken simply by a person entering a bank and taking cash over the counter. He said that he thought the information must have been leaked somehow but it is not yet clear exactly how. The confusion lies in “how they know where each of the jockeys bank and how they are getting access to the account”, continued Mr Struthers.
The crimes took place in a number of major banks and in various locations across the country, meaning the plea for action to be taken is nationwide. Mr Struthers continued to say that although money had been returned to the riders affected, not enough had been done by the banks to prevent the crimes in the first place.
As specialists working in the equine industry, we would like to pass on the advice being given to our clients, which is for jockeys “to move their current account banking off the High Street”; this advice is being supported by both the PJA and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).
