How to Rob the Bank of England
On a sunny May morning in 1990, a bank courier strode out of the Bank of England and, minutes later, was robbed at knifepoint of 301 bearer bonds valued at £292 million. It was the biggest theft in British history.
The thing is... when Keith Cheeseman received a call from a disbarred lawyer connected to London's underworld and attended a meeting on the night of the robbery, he counted £427 million in bonds - £135 million more than the Bank of England had reported.
As Keith set out to launder the bonds, Scotland Yard and the FBI were always one step ahead in tracking them down. Over the next eighteen months, two gangland figures were shot dead and more than eighty people were arrested. Keith was the only man ever jailed for the crime.
Keith Cheeseman is the last of the old-time gangsters, a con man who detests violence, wears Savile Row suits and gold watches, and loves classic cars and good dining. He bought non-league Dunstable Town football club and signed Manchester United star George Best to play for the team. He knew the legendary Kray twins and killer Frankie Fraser once threatened to snuff him out over a game of chess.
So what happened to the missing £135 million?
In this breath-taking adventure, featuring colourful characters from showbusiness alongside royalty, the IRA and even Pablo Escobar, Clifford Thurlow reveals Keith Cheeseman's incredible true story for the first time.
Clifford Thurlow has been described as 'one of the UK's best ghostwriters'. He has worked on a wide range of titles, including Sunday Times best-sellers Runaway and Today I'm Alice. He worked with Wing Commander Mike Sutton to write Typhoon: The Inside Story of an RAF Fighter Squadron at War.
Keith Cheeseman is the only person ever convicted in connection to the biggest robbery in British history. He is also famous as the former chairman of non-league Dunstable Town, notably tempting George Best out of retirement. Cheeseman spent a lifetime rubbing shoulders with everybody from British high society to American gangsters.