How family man Rauf used his post office business to steal nearly £60,000

TO CUSTOMERS at his busy post office in Edinburgh's Tollcross area, Abdul Rauf appeared to be a respectable family man.

However, the facade crumbled in 1996, when the father of five was jailed for four years for a lucrative fraud he had conducted in the course of his business.

Rauf abused his position of trust to cash in 779 Department of Social Security payment orders over a year. He forged signatures on the payment orders and cashed them.

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Rauf was convicted of stealing a total of 58,624 between June 1993 and July 1994 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

However, Sheriff Charles Stoddart decided the maximum sentence he could impose – three years in jail – was inadequate and sent him to the High Court to be dealt with.

Jailing Rauf for four years, Lord Sutherland told him: "This case discloses a very serious breach of trust which appears to have been carried on quite deliberately for a period of over a year and involved a very substantial amount of money."

Detectives believe the money Rauf spirited away helped him fund a comfortable lifestyle. He bought a luxury home in Glasgow's Southside, in Springkell Avenue, near Maxwell Park, where he still lives with his wife. He also bought, about 12 years ago, a flat in Edinburgh's Dalkeith Road that gave him a rental income of 650 a month.

It was his failure to declare ownership of this property while claiming income support which landed him in court again on a fraud charges.

SNP insiders insist Rauf has never had any link to the party. A source said: "He is not a donor and is not a member. He is simply a constituent of Nicola Sturgeon's."

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