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Men guilty of banking fraud plot | |
(20 minutes later) | |
Two men who plotted to steal £229m from a bank using software have been found guilty for their roles in the scam. | |
"Lord" Hugh Rodley, who bought his title, was convicted of conspiracy charges dating back to 2004. | "Lord" Hugh Rodley, who bought his title, was convicted of conspiracy charges dating back to 2004. |
The court heard how spyware was installed on computers at Sumitomo Mitsui bank in order to steal money from the accounts of big businesses. | The court heard how spyware was installed on computers at Sumitomo Mitsui bank in order to steal money from the accounts of big businesses. |
Soho sex shop owner David Nash, 47, from Durrington, West Sussex, was also convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court. | Soho sex shop owner David Nash, 47, from Durrington, West Sussex, was also convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court. |
'Logging errors' | |
Rodley, who lived in a Tudor mansion in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, teamed up with a gang of internet thieves to target the Japanese bank. | |
The "bold and sophisticated" plot was only foiled at the 11th hour by the complexities of inter-bank money transfers, the court heard. | |
An insider unlocked the bank's London offices so the gang could make "surreptitious" visits at night, the jury was told. | |
Gang members then used software to corrupt the bank's computer system, record the keystrokes of staff and reveal user names and passwords, jurors were told. | |
Access to holdings | |
That gave the gang access to the holdings of major companies like Toshiba International, Nomura Asset Management and Sumitomo Chemical UK. | |
They made several attempts to electronically transfer up to £12.5m at a time around the world, but were unsuccessful because of "field logging errors". | |
Rodley, 61, was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to transfer criminal property between 1 January and 5 October 2004. | |
Nash was cleared of that first same charge but convicted of the second same charge. | |
Swedish national Inger Malmros, 58, who lives in Gran Canaria, was cleared of both counts. | |
She had told the court she knew nothing of two instructions - allegedly from her firm - concerning the planned transfer of some of Sumitomo's cash. |