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Sri Lankan student in UK jailed over money laundering
24 Aug, 2016
A Sri Lankan student and a shop worker have been jailed in England after they helped launder almost ?200,000 stolen from a British company, the Express and Echo website reported.
Adeesh Watte and Adaikalam Swaminathan allowed the fraudsters behind the Hustle style scheme to use their accounts to disguise where the money went.
They were just two of a number of people who worked together to defraud the Sowton based company out of ?784,551.15 in a scam in which internet bank accounts were hacked into and looted.
A conman posed as a member of the Lloyds Bank fraud investigation team and persuaded staff at the telecommunications firm to reveal crucial log-in details by telling they were investigating an attempt to hack into the accounts.
In reality, that was exactly what they did and as soon as they got the information they took the money in eight tranches of between ?90,000 and ?100,000.
Watte and Swaminathan set up accounts into which the stolen money was sent electronically before being moved out again, probably to mysterious businesses in Singapore.
Swaminathan is?an Indian from Tamil Nadu who had been granted asylum in Britain and was working at a greengrocer while Watte was a business studies student from Sri Lanka who overstayed his visa and will be deported as soon as he finishes his sentence.
Adeesh Pathriana Watte, aged 27, of Dorchester Way, Harrow, and Adaikalam Swaminathan, aged 50, of Park Avenue, Southall, both denied being involved in money laundering but were convicted.
They were both jailed for 22 months by Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, who told them:”I don’t know what the full truth of this case is. I certainly did not hear it from your evidence. (Colombo Gazette)
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