Britain September 13, 2005 Mint manager 'coined £20,000 in kickbacks' By Nicola Woolcock A ROYAL MINT manager pocketed nearly £20,000 from an illicit deal with the head of an African bank, a court was told yesterday. Hector Williamson, 65, allegedly made the money from a “recoinage” contract with the Central Bank of The Gambia. The Royal Mint was supplying 40 million coins to the West African country. But Junking Bayo, the bank’s manager, demanded payments to seal the contract, insisting that he would use a competitor if no commission were forth-coming. The court was told that Mr Williamson and Mr Bayo allegedly agreed a £38,000 commission payment from the Royal Mint, which they shared between them. Roger Holmes, then the Royal Mint chief executive, and his successor, Gerald Sheehan, told the court that they had no knowledge of any commission payments and would not have approved of the transactions. Mr Williamson, from Tooting, southwest London, was a regional sales manager with an unblemished 26-year career at the Royal Mint and has since retired. Yesterday he denied conspiracy to defraud between February 1996 and February 2001, at Southwark Crown Court in London. Douglas Day, QC, for the prosecution, said that Mr Williamson was a highly regarded manager with responsibility for West Africa. He said: “To a large degree he was able to work without supervision. He took great care of his customers and assiduously guarded his relationship with them.” In 1996 Mr Bayo, then manager of the Central Bank of The Gambia, negotiated a contract with the Royal Mint for millions of bututs, the currency of the country. During the deal he demanded commission, saying that if it were not paid he would go to a competitor, the court was told. Mr Bayo then allegedly took a total of £37,720 of the new money as it rolled off the production line. Mr Day said: “The defendant received no less than £18,250. This was made up of payments from Mr Bayo of £14,650, plus an additional sum of £3,600 withdrawn from ATMs. “Management at the Royal Mint believed all the payments were being received by Mr Bayo and were not aware of any of them being directed for the benefit of the defendant.” Mr Day added: “The Crown contends that the conspiracy comprised a dishonest agreement between the defendant and Mr Bayo to share commission payments which were made.” He said that Mr Williamson had even used Mr Bayo’s bank card to withdraw some of the cash. Mr Bayo is still in The Gambia but faces extradition to Britain. The trial continues. ALSO IN THIS SECTION Petrol panic begins to spread as oil prices rise Drivers still race to fill up despite oil firms' call for calm Graphic: Fuel facts Arms fair sparks policing row over £4.5m cost Out of the Ashes comes rebirth of English game BREAKING NEWS Britain from PA Thousands set to hail cricket heroes Police attacked in further rioting Brown urges action on oil prices MPs quiz Clarke on July 7 attacks Bomb suspect in extradition appeal OFFER French Film Café Free Jean de Florette DVD plus six free DVD rentals worth over £18 when you register for a free trial In association with Carte Noire CHARITY SPECIAL The NSPCC is working to shield children from abuse. Click here to find out how a small contribution will make a big difference AD FEATURE Read our review of Emperor: The Field of Swords, Conn Iggulden's historical adventure novel In association with HarperCollins MOBILE IMAGING Get behind the scenes at the Polo Gold Cup and other events this summer - with Sony Ericsson THE ART OF TRAVEL Discover a variety of enjoyable road journeys across the UK and organise your trips with our new route planner - with Renault Espace MAKE SKILLS WORK How to bridge the skills gap and develop your workforce ADVERTISEMENT Contact our advertising team for advertising and sponsorship in Times Online, The Times and The Sunday Times. Copyright 2005 Times Newspapers Ltd. This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard Terms and Conditions. Please read our Privacy Policy . To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from The _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤