Embarrassing, Retired Major Of The Queen Of England's Elite Guard Embezzled 24 Armored Vehicles

Saladin armored vehicle (Source: Gov.uk via Sputnik)

JAKARTA - This one British Army retiree is really something. With a motive to make a museum in his regiment served first, he instead traded armored vehicle donations from a number of countries for his benefit.

Not a random soldier, because this retired Major Michael Whatley served in the elite Household Cavalry unit, one of the oldest regiments in England and the official bodyguard of Queen Elizabeth II.

Citing Sputnik on August 25, the UK Ministry of Defense has released photos of some of the stockpiles of armored vehicles Whatley had fraudulently obtained from foreign donors.

In a trial last August 13, Michael Whatley pleaded guilty to three counts of misconduct in public office. He was sentenced to two years suspended along with 150 hours of unpaid social work, as well as paying a court fee of £1,500.

Swedish IKV91 light tank. (Source: Gov.uk via Sputnik)

It said Whatley acquired these armored vehicles between 2001 and 2011, persuading the German, Swedish and Belgian National Tank Museums to provide him with a total of 24 armored fighting vehicles. Some are even still equipped with working weaponry.

Whatley claims the vehicle was meant to be exhibited at the Household Cavalry Museum. In fact, he sold them or traded them with fellow collectors or collectors of tanks and armored vehicles.

"You are a disgrace. You are a man of great honor, a Major in one of the oldest regiments in the British Army," Judge Andrew Barnett told Whatley on sentencing.

"You should be deeply ashamed of your behavior. I don't want to minimize the effect of action like yours on the public's confidence in soldiers," Judge Andrew Barnett said.

German-made Gepard anti-aircraft gun. (Source: Gov.uk via Sputnik)

The armored vehicles included the British-made six-wheeled Saladin armored vehicle with a 76mm low-speed gun, the Swedish Infantrycannon 91 assault gun armed with a 90mm gun, to the Flakpanzer Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft platform carrying two anti-aircraft guns.

The sentencing is the culmination of a highly complex investigation by the Ministry of Defense Police's (MDP) Criminal Unit that involved "detailed collaboration with authorities in a number of European countries," said unit chief Detective Inspector Raffaele D'Orsi.

"Michael Whatley's plea of guilt and sentencing from the court sends a clear signal that wrongdoing by those holding trusted positions in public office, particularly within the Ministry of Defence, will not be tolerated and will be processed through the legal system, regardless of how, it drags on, it requires a process," said D'Orsi.