Man wakes to find £98k stolen from bank account after 'drink spiked' in Soho strip club
6 January 2023, 08:55 | Updated: 6 January 2023, 09:59
A London strip club faces closure after a man had £98,000 stolen from his bank account after allegedly having his drink spiked - the latest in a string of alleged spikings at the venue.
He's one of 10 men to have now reported incidents following visits to the London strip club, with total funds stolen reaching £250,000 according to a council report.
The incidents, which took place at Vanity Bar and Nightclub on Carlisle Street in the heart of Soho, could now see the London club shut down after police called for its license to be suspended pending investigation.
According to MyLondon, the latest victim, who visited the club on November 26, 2022, said he woke up in the street near his home with no recollection of how he'd got there.
His only memory of the evening involved visiting the strip club and buying a drink.
He then checked his bank account to discover money had been sent to a number of unknown accounts with more than £19,000 of funds missing.
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A Westminster City Council report into the incident said: "The male recalls entering Vanity and purchasing a drink. The male has no recollection after this point. The victim came around the next day and was in a street near to his home address.
"The victim has checked his bank and found approximately £3,000 payments were taken by Vanity over four transactions.
"There were numerous other transactions made to different people and companies to the approximate value of £16,000.
Four transactions of £3,000 saw the victim pushed into his overdraft, at which point three £500 transactions took place from other accounts.
Police logs into the string of incidents also reveal one victim woke up in a brothel after visiting the club. He later discovered £98,000 had been transferred out of his accounts.
Another victim found £37,500 had been taken from his account, with two further victims having £30,000 taken from multiple accounts.
Adding: "The victim has no recollection whatsoever of being in Vanity and had not authorised these transactions."
According to police officers looking into the incident, the victim checked Google Maps to discover he left Vanity approximately two hours after arriving
PC Steve Muldoon said: "He found himself at a location on Google Maps showing a car wash where he was for nearly two and a half hours.
"He was then dropped near his home. Google Maps has this down as a route he was driven. The victim does not know how he arrived at these locations or how he has returned home."
