Three jailed for posing as police in £4m crypto scam

Three men have been jailed after they posed as police officers and tricked eight victims into handing over about £4 million in cryptocurrency. The group used fake police websites and a complex laundering network to move and spend the stolen funds.

The men contacted victims by phone, warned that their crypto was at risk and convinced them to reveal account details or transfer assets to accounts presented as secure and controlled by police. The coins were taken soon after transfers and routed through multiple wallets and services to hide their origin.

At Southwark Crown Court, 29-year-old Anthony Ikenwe and 25-year-old Kevin Nwamma were each sentenced to six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering, with terms to run concurrently. Hamza Bashir, 23, received three years and nine months for fraud and three years for money laundering, also concurrent. Ikenwe and Nwamma pleaded guilty in April. Bashir initially denied involvement and changed his plea on the eighth day of his trial after prosecutors presented extensive evidence.

Investigators found the men living beyond their recorded means. The group bought a car worth nearly £60,000 with cryptocurrency, held around £500,000 in cash in a Dubai safety deposit box and spent on designer shops and holidays. Officers seized Rolex watches and other luxury items valued at more than £26,000. More than £1 million in cryptocurrency was linked to wallets controlled by Ikenwe, and some stolen funds were traced into bank accounts associated with Nwamma’s chauffeur business. Detectives reported recovering around £1 million believed to be connected to victims.

The Metropolitan Police’s Cryptocurrency Team said it used blockchain analysis together with exchange records, communications, financial documents and internet service provider data to link offences that first appeared separate into a single organised network operating across platforms and jurisdictions. Detective Inspector Geoff Donoghue called the investigation ‘highly complex’ and warned that ‘policing is evolving alongside technology.’ In November officers raided seven addresses across London and Essex, arresting the three men and seizing cryptocurrency, safety deposit keys, 40 mobile phones and luxury goods.

The Metropolitan Police said it is continuing to work with UK and international partners to identify others linked to the conspiracy and to recover assets for the victims.