According to the Financial Times, attorneys for the parents of former Abbey Bank IT employee Richard Chang's are hoping for a finding against Abbey Bank and investigative contractor, Kroll in connection with Chang's death last year. Chang fell to his death from a fifth-floor balcony into the atrium at Abbey Bank's headquarters in London about an hour after being interviewed by Abbey and Kroll personnel.

The interview was in connection with a company an investigation into the origins of an anonymous letter sent last year to senior bank executives containing allegations of financial and sexual impropriety in the distribution of Abbey Bank's IT contracts. The Chang's solicitors allege that there was an abuse of UK employment law in Abbey Bank's handling of the investigation.

Abbey faces grilling over death at HQ

Simon Watkins
17 July 2005

THE tactics used by Abbey bank and a private investigation firm it employed will come under scrutiny tomorrow at the inquest into the death of Richard Chang, an IT worker at the bank. Chang, 48, fell from a fifth-floor balcony into the atrium at Abbey's headquarters in central London on July 13 last year. His death came less than an hour after he had been questioned by employees of investigation firm Kroll...Central to the [Chang] family's concerns are questions of whether Chang was put under undue pressure by his interviewers and whether his rights as an Abbey employee were respected.

...Abbey called in the services of Kroll after an anonymous document was circulated last year alleging favouritism and corruption in the way that IT contracts were being granted to outside contractors. Abbey carried out its own investigation headed by Keith Woodley, then deputy chairman of Abbey, and decided that the allegations were untrue. It then hired Kroll to help uncover which member, or members, of staff were behind the document.

Chang was one of four employees - including his manager Vincent Santeng - suspected by Abbey of being behind the circulation of the allegations. Chang was interviewed on July 13 by two Kroll employees, former Metropolitan Police detective Howard Jones, and Peter Pender-Cudlip, then Kroll's deputy head of business intelligence and investigations.

Chang fell from the balcony less than an hour after his interview, while Jones and Pender-Cudlip were interviewing Santeng. Jones, two Abbey staff who witnessed the fall, and Santeng have all been summoned to give evidence to the inquest. The original document containing allegations of corruption, which has so far been kept secret, could form part of the evidence revealed in court.

A tape recording of the interview with Chang is also expected to be key. It is understood that the tape reveals that Chang declined to answer most questions during the interview. Another vital piece of evidence expected to be revealed is a note left by Chang in which he apparently confesses to circulating the document.

Labels: Kroll