Two Nigerians have been jailed by a UK court after committing over a million pounds worth of fraud and money laundering, Sky news reports.
The convicts whose names were given as Emmanuel Mmaduike and Olawale Kashimawo, both 31 years of age, were said to be members of a Nigerian organised crime group in the UK.
Reports said the convicts spent the cash on a lavish lifestyle, adding that they hired helicopters, drove flashy vehicles and posted pictures of themselves with wads of cash, costly watches and expensive champagne.
They ran their scams from southeast London after acquiring hundreds of enterprise email addresses and passwords, which they used to divert funds away from official firms to themselves.
Mmaduike’s job was to access the victim’s email accounts and alter invoices in order for funds to be directed to mule financial institution accounts run by Kashimawo.
Kashimawo then laundered the money by arranging withdrawals and international transfers by other fraudsters.
The convicts were believed to have carried out more than £1 million of fraud and money laundering between April 2015 and November 2015.
Mmaduike was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison after he admitted money laundering and fraud, while his accomplice, Kashimawo, was jailed for six years and nine months after admitting two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Reacting to the court’s verdict, head of investigations at the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, Tony Adams, said,
“UK businesses should exercise caution when authorising significant transactions – particularly if there is a last-minute change of account details.
“If in doubt speak to the intended recipient of the funds on the phone prior to making a large payment.”
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