'Beggars belief': Oxford University hopeful admits stealing designer watches and clothes from City colleagues at UBS London headquarters

A prospective Oxford University medical student stole valuables including watches, shoes, and designer spectacles from colleagues while working at financial services giant UBS, a court heard.

Jishnu Kodali, 20, raided lockers at the in-house gym and swiped possession from colleagues' desk drawers in a two-week crime spree at the firm’s City headquarters.

Inner London crown court heard Kodali stole three designer watches, two pairs of shoes, Chanel spectacles, ladies clothes, a bottle of perfume, and one colleague’s supply of jasmine teabags.

He was caught out by CCTV, showing he was the only person in the gym at the UBS’ Broadgate headquarters at the time of the thefts, and he had used his employee pass to access the fitness centre.

Kodali had been working at UBS as an apprentice business manager, and is hoping to take up a place at the University of Oxford in September to study medicine, the court heard.

“It beggars belief”, said Judge Ian Darling. “An Oxford-bound student doing this and at Woolwich crown court in June facing serious allegations of theft.

“He has thrown away his life.”

Defence counsel Christopher Jenkins said Kodali is “baffled” by his own behaviour, characterising it as a “complete lapse in judgment” after the breakdown of a relationship and his father leaving the UK to care for his parents.

Prosecutor Denise Murrin said many of the thefts happened in the Nuffield Health gym in the UBS building in October last year, where obtaining a locker key was difficult and users regularly left their possessions unsecured.

“As the gym was affiliated to the place where they worked, they felt it would be secure”, she said

Kodali, earning £21,000 a year in a role he held for 15 months, carried out the first theft on October 8 last year when he stole a £4,500 Chopard Mille Miglia watch which had been left in the owner’s shoe.

The timepiece, along with a £1,000 watch “of great sentimental value” and a £5,000 Cartier watch, were later recovered from Kodali’s laptop bag.

He swiped two pairs of designer shoes from the gym, took ladies’ Chanel spectacles from a desk drawer, and also stole a satchel, a ladies’ Helly Hansen jacket, an olive green sleeveless gilet and “a quantity of jasmine tea bags”.

“He was identified from CCTV and the fact he was the only person in the gym for all the relevant thefts”, said Ms Murrin.

Kodali admitted the crime spree to police when questioned and has lost his role at UBS. Mr Jenkins said he has “complete remorse” and had gone back to police to ask to be interviewed again when he realised he mistakenly denied stealing the bottle of Gabrielle Chanel perfume.

“Why you did this, I’m at a loss to fathom”, said the judge, handing Kodali a 10-month suspended prison sentence.

“Up until your 20th birthday you were a man of good character and by your total stupidity and possibly out of greed, you have thrown that away.”

He ordered Kodali to carry out 200 hours of community service, pay £750 compensation for stolen items not recovered, as well as £550 in costs.

Kodali, from Slough, pleaded guilty to ten counts of theft.

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