Ex Co-Op Bank boss ordered to pay compensation or face more prison time

LONDON (Reuters) -Paul Flowers, the former chairman of Britain's Co-Op Bank and a one-time local councillor and church minister, has been ordered to return 184,000 pounds ($247,572) he stole from a vulnerable friend - even after her death.

The Crown Prosecution Service said on Wednesday that 75-year-old Flowers, who is serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to 18 counts of fraud in 2024, had plundered the savings and pension of his victim, who had Alzheimer's.

Flowers, once dubbed the "crystal Methodist" by newspapers after a drugs sting in 2013, faces a further two-and-a-half years in jail if he fails to make the ordered payment within three months.

"Paul Flowers abused the trust his friend placed in him, preying on her vulnerability. He stole a large amount of money from her, depriving charities and her niece of gifts that were bequeathed to them," said Charles Clayton, specialist prosecutor at the crime division of the CPS.

"We are pleased to have secured a compensation order that will right that wrong."   

Reuters was unable to reach Flowers' lawyers for immediate comment.

Flowers was banned from the financial services industry in 2018 because of a lack of integrity, the Financial Conduct Authority regulator said at the time.

In its prohibition notice, the FCA referred to Flowers' conviction for possession of illegal drugs and noted that he had used his work mobile phone to call premium rate chat lines and discussed illegal drugs and sent and received "explicit and offensive messages" using his work email.  

($1 = 0.7432 pounds)

(Reporting by Kirstin RidleyEditing by David Goodman)