UK court jails Nigerian couple for £433,000 tax fraud

A UK court has sentenced a Nigerian couple, Luciana and Femi Akanbi, to prison terms after they were found guilty of a £433,000 tax fraud linked to the misuse of employee data stolen from Transport for London (TfL).

The couple were each jailed for three years and nine months after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court, where they were convicted of running a sophisticated fraud scheme involving false tax rebate claims submitted to the UK tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Court documents showed that Luciana Akanbi, 38, who worked in the human resources department of TfL, illegally accessed sensitive personal records of staff, including passport details, National Insurance numbers, and bank information.

Prosecutors said the data of at least 40 employees was used to file 139 fraudulent tax rebate claims, with the total value of attempted claims reaching nearly £650,000.

The fraud, which took place between September 2021 and January 2022, caused a loss of over £433,000 to the UK public purse.

Judge David Miller, delivering judgment, described the case as the worst data breach in TfL’s history, stating that the organisation was forced to overhaul its internal systems following the incident.

He noted that the stolen data affected more than 100 employees and was used to generate multiple fraudulent claims through self-assessment accounts created using several devices.

Prosecutors told the court that the proceeds of the fraud were quickly moved through a complex money laundering network, with about £66,000 traced to Femi Akanbi’s account and £16,000 to his wife.

The court also heard that part of the stolen funds was spent on gambling, amid claims that Femi struggled with addiction following illness during the COVID-19 period.

Judge Miller ruled that both defendants played central roles in the scheme, rejecting attempts to shift blame, and said the fraud caused significant financial and personal harm to victims whose identities were exploited.

Transport for London said it had strengthened its data protection systems following the breach, while HMRC vowed to continue prosecuting tax fraud cases involving abuse of the system