A global money launderer who helped fraudsters steal more than £6 million before auction house Christie’s raised the alarm has been jailed for nine years.
Kazeem Akinwale, 43, offered his services to criminals around the world for three-and-a-half years, setting up bank accounts from his home in south-east London as more than 100 businesses were targeted.
Victims were fooled by spoof emails, apparently from genuine business customers or suppliers, asking for invoices to be paid to a bank account which had been set up by Akinwale. The scam, known as a mandate fraud, was finally unravelled when Christie’s realised it was being targeted, sparking a National Crime Agency investigation which led back to Nigerian-born Akinwale.
Jailing him at the Old Bailey yesterday, Judge Mark Dennis said: “This was very serious offending over a prolonged period, engaging in money laundering large sums obtained as a result of the fraudulent activities of others.”
Australian mother-of-two Melissa Walsh said her company Melobaby took two years to recover after falling victim to the scam. She said in a statement: “It took me a year to recover emotionally.”
The fraudsters hacked into the internal email accounts of the businesses and spoofed emails. Victims believed they were still messaging genuine clients or customers.
Between August 2013 and March 2017, Akinwale — using the alias Ola Gapiano — set up bank accounts which would receive the stolen money and swiftly move it on to other accounts, receiving a commission for his illicit work. He was caught with messages to and from fraudsters as well as screenshots of the stolen money being deposited.
Akinwale, of Erith, even continued after investigators first came to his door, before he was formally arrested. In total he processed £6,087,596. Only just over £1 million has been recovered, the court heard. Investigators found evidence of £73,270 in commissions paid to Akinwale, but believe his earnings were much larger.
He was convicted of three charges of money laundering and one of possession of articles for use in fraud.
