A NIGERIAN man who lived in South Ockendon is behind bars for his part in an international gang that committed internet fraud in a ruse that netted them £10 million.

Mba Atuonwu, 48, OF Ayron Road was arrested at his home address and charged on 22 May 2019 with conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to convert criminal property.

At Southwark Crown Court he was sentenced to six years the first charge and six for the second. The sentences will run concurrently.

Officers based in the North West London Economic Crime Unit which forms part of the Met Police's Specialist Crime Directorate, identified a total of 235 separate frauds, committed from 2014 to 2019, totalling £9,218,522.76.

A number of victims were traced with the help of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau whose Action Fraud service allows both domestic and overseas victims to report fraud online.

The main method employed by the gang was the use of Malware to steal the log in credentials of email accounts belonging to businesses and private individuals worldwide.

This would allow the fraudsters to monitor the chosen email accounts for high value financial transactions. Having identified a legitimate financial transaction between two parties, email conversations were intercepted and spoof emails sent so that victims were duped into paying funds into UK based 'mule' bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters instead of their intended legitimate destination.

Another method involved conning victims out of thousands of pounds by selling investments in 'Binary currency trading schemes' that did not exist.

Victims ranged from high profile individuals and organisations to private individuals who thought that they were paying money to their conveyancing solicitor during a property transaction.

Atuonwu also played the part of a foreign exchange agent who would facilitate the return of UK Sterling back to the UK from Nigeria for the benefit of the fraudsters.

Olumuyiwa Ogunduyile, 39, a Nigerian national of Pier Way Greenwich, was the boss of the operation and he was jailed for seven and a half years.

Alex Enyiagu, 50, a Nigerian national of Whitings Road, Barnet, was arrested at his home address and charged on 14 May 2019 with sentenced to seven years.

Satish Kotinadhuni, 44, an Indian national of Skeffington Road, E6, London was six years and Declan Nathaniel Bannerman, 27, was sentenced to five years.