A BANK manager conducting an unannounced audit opened a safe to find three empty boxes and an IOU for £7 million, a court was told yesterday.

Graham Price, who ran a branch agency of the Halifax, yesterday admitted stealing £10 million over four years to feed his addiction to horse racing.

Price, 58, had a stake in 11 horses and was a regular in the paddocks at Cheltenham and Chepstow. But the money vanished as easily as it was stolen from the bank’s customers. Magistrates in Swansea were told that Price is broke and his defence was paid by legal aid.

The moment when an auditor opened the safe in Price’s office was recounted by Linda Baker, for the prosecution. “Matters came to light when an unannounced cash audit was carried out in November last year,” she said. “Halifax auditor Leslie Tucker opened the safe and he found only three empty boxes and a scrap of paper.”

Written on the paper were the words “I have borrowed £7m from the Halifax”. Mr Price had signed the document.

Yesterday he pleaded guilty to 24 charges of theft and 19 of deception and asked for a further 263 similar offences to be taken into consideration.

Asked if he admitted the charges, Price replied: “Each and every one.”

The grey-haired racing fan was working as a financial consultant in Gowerton near Swansea when he opened a branch agency for the then building society.

Ms Baker said: “Price began taking money from the safe and stealing from investors’ accounts in January 2001. Over a period of time he was removing money from the safe and taking it from investors. This went on for four years — they were premeditated acts which all represented a breach of trust.

“He stole £3 million of the money over one nine-day period last summer.”

Price vanished after the Halifax discovered that the money was missing but he was traced and arrested. A police source said later: “Price had an overwhelming passion for the horses. But unfortunately his passion was not matched by his skill for gambling. He lost a lot of money and then tried to gamble his way out of the problems.

“He had access to customers’ and investors’ money and milked their accounts to pay for his stake in horses and in gambling.”

The horses in which Price owned shares included River Bug, One in the Eye, Bumblefly, Dodger and Mujalia, none of which was particularly successful. They raced under the colours of Ormonde Racing.

About 80 investors claimed to have lost money that Halifax says has now been refunded. Miss Baker said that the prosecution would press for an application to confiscate Price’s assets under the proceeds of crime legislation.

Price, who is married, was released on conditional bail and the case was adjourned for sentencing at Swansea Crown Court on November 7.

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