A credit union robbed of tens of thousands of pounds by a trusted employee has been reimbursed by insurers.
Kingdom Credit Union was defrauded by former staff member Margaret Bond who took out loan after loan over the course of a year.
Bond was jailed for 16 months after being convicted of embezzling £79,120.
However, the union told members it had lost more than £200,000.
Bond was among a small group of staff with access to the online banking service of the Methilhill-based community co-operative that provides affordable borrowing, savings schemes and insurance to members.
Staff were understood at the time to be shocked and distraught at the theft by a respected colleague who had worked with them for around six years.
In May last year Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard Bond, 49, of Lundin Links, took out 42 loans over a 12-month period when she worked at the non-profit organisation.
She admitted embezzling the cash at its offices in Leven and Glenrothes between August 2013 and August 2014, arranging for loans to be paid into her account with reduced interest rates.
Her scam came to light during a check by the credit union, which found a loan with a far lower interest rate than it should have had. Further investigation revealed the loans were paid into the same account Bond used for her salary and were not being repaid.
Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist said Bond had committed a “sustained course of very serious criminal conduct”.
Her solicitor, Dewar Spence, said many of the loans had been taken out to repay previous loans, suggesting £79,120 was an inflated figure.
However, Ena Harley, secretary to the credit union board, said the amount lost was £200,843.11.
She said: “Our insurers reimbursed the full amount to the credit union and at no time were our members’ funds compromised.”
Members were informed of the extent of the losses and the subsequent reimbursement at the credit union’s annual meeting in Glenrothes.
Insurers and lost adjusters spent more than a year checking its systems and procedures before settling the claim.
Dividends for the year were calculated to include what would have been paid in 2014 and were paid into members’ accounts in early December.
Proceeds of crime legislation is also being used to recover the cash taken and the next hearing is due to take place in March.