Nigerian Cyber Crime Pair Jailed For £1Million Phishing Scam In UK

Two members of a Nigerian organised crime group who committed more than a million pounds worth of fraud and money laundering have been jailed in the U.K.

Emmanuel Mmaduike and Olawale Kashimawo, each 31, spent the cash on a lavish lifestyle. The pair hired helicopters, drove flashy vehicles and posted pictures of themselves with wads of cash, costly watches and consuming 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 role was to access the victim’s e-mail 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 pair are believed to have carried out more than £1m of fraud and money laundering between April 2015 and November 2015.

Mmaduike was jailed for six years and 10 months after he admitted money laundering and fraud. His accomplice, Kashimawo was jailed for six years and nine months after admitting two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering.