As grandparents in the UK, we provided a cheque to be invested for a granddaughter. HER FATHER FIRST OPENED A BANK ACCOUNT IN HER NAME WITH A BUILDING SOCIETY, BUT THEN TRANSFERRED THE MONEY TO HIS OWN CURRENT ACCOUNT, and then spent it.

Is this legal?

Is this criminal?
IS

I'm afraid I can't speak to laws in the UK, but in the US this would be legal as long as the father used the money from the account for the child's benefit. Thus if he used the money to buy clothes for her, or to pay for school books, then this is clearly on her behalf and is legitimate. One could even argue that if he used the money to pay the child's portion of the food bill that would be legit as well. But if he used the child's money to buy himself cigarettes and beer, or to bet on the ponies, then that would be illegal. The problem is that it is very difficult to trace the specific sources of cash, so it's difficult to prove exactly what the money was used for.

My advice is that if you are unhappy with how the father spent the money you should consider setting up your own custodial account for her. That way you can control what the money is used for.

A lot depends on the conditions you placed on the gift and whether you can prove them. For example, if you stated that he was to invest this for her college education, then he might be in trouble.