UK authority jails 2 Nigerian criminals Mmaduike, Kashimawo for stealing over £1m
- Two Nigerians, Emmanuel Mmaduike and Olawale Kashimawo, have been jailed by the UK authority
- The Mmaduike and Kashimawo, both 31 years of age, have been involved in cyber crimes for three years
- According to security agency in the UK the duo have stolen over £1m
After being arrested by the security authority of the United Kingdom (UK) for stealing more than £1m, Emmanuel Mmaduike and Olawale Kashimawo, both 31, have been jailed. Mmaduike and Kashimawo operated a London-based cyber crime gang.
The UK National Crime Agency reported that they both spent the money on “a lavish lifestyle”; in fact, the Sky News stated about the duo: "The pair hired a helicopter and drove flash cars, and posed for photographs of themselves with wads of money, expensive watches and drinking champagne.”
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Their fraudulent activities spanned from southeast London after obtaining thousands of business email addresses and passwords employed they used to divert funds from registered companies to themselves.
Officially described as “business email compromise” (BEC), the crime involves the criminal taking on the identity of a senior executive and attempting to convince the victim to transfer funds.
UK’s National Cyber Security Centre said BEC scams are one of the fastest growing forms of cyber crime.A 2017 report by networking company Cisco, cyber criminals made $5.3bn (£3.9bn) from BEC in just three years.
The role of Mmaduikerole was to access the victim’s email accounts and alter invoices so that payments were directed to mule bank accounts run by Kashimawo.
His accomplice in turn concealled the origins of the cash by arranging withdrawals and international bank transfers which were carried out by other fraudsters.
The agency said that so for, the criminals have allegedly carried out more than £1m of fraud and money laundering between April 2015 and November 2015.
Mmaduike was jailed in March 2017 for six years and 10 months after he admitted money laundering and fraud. He also admitted perverting the course of justice in relation to a sham marriage to a Dutch national.
On Thursday, May 17, his accomplice Kashimawo was jailed at Kingston Crown Court for six years and nine months after admitting two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Tony Adams, the head of investigations at the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU), said: “UK businesses should exercise caution when authorising significant transactions – particularly if there is a last-minute change of account details.
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“If in doubt speak to the intended recipient of the funds on the phone prior to making a large payment. Keep passwords safe and do not use the same passwords for multiple online accounts.
“The NCA and our partners are continuing to tackle business email fraud and money laundering. It is imperative victims report such compromises as soon as possible and retain all evidence.”
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the British government had announced that it had started making plans to build a new wing in a Nigerian prison so that it can transfer Nigerian prisoners there.
Legit.ng gathered that the new wing would be built at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos. The proposed 112-bed wing, which would cost £700,000 and be compliant with United Nations standard, would make it easier for Britain to adhere with a prisoner transfer agreement it made with Nigeria in 2014.
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Source: Legit.ng
