UK Jails Nigerian Couple Over £650K Tax Fraud Scandal

A shocking case out of the United Kingdom has led to the imprisonment of a Nigerian couple after what a judge described as the “worst-ever data breach” in the history of Transport for London.
38 year old Luciana Akanbi, who worked in HR at TfL, abused her position by accessing sensitive personal data of her colleagues including passport numbers, national insurance details, and bank information. Alongside her husband, 51 year old Femi Akanbi, the pair used this stolen data to file 139 fraudulent tax rebate claims with HM Revenue and Customs.
A staggering £433,000 loss to public funds, with attempted claims reaching up to £650,000.
The court heard that at least 40 employees were targeted in this highly organized scheme, which ran between September 2021 and January 2022.
At Woolwich Crown Court, both were sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison each, bringing an end to a case that has raised serious concerns about internal data security and trust in public institutions.
Access to sensitive information comes with responsibility and abusing it can have serious consequences.