Nine victims to receive compensation decades after fraud through innovative SFO recovery action
The Serious Fraud Office has recovered more than £400,000 to be returned to victims of an international email fraud scheme, almost twenty-four years after the offences were committed.
The funds will be distributed to nine victims who were defrauded in 2002, following the use of civil recovery proceedings by the SFO. In cases where there is no criminal conviction, recovered funds would ordinarily be paid to HM Treasury. However, in this instance, the SFO has secured the return of the money directly to the victims.
The recovery relates to funds stolen by Abdullah Ali Jammal, a former director of a retail depositor bank, who operated an advance fee email fraud scheme from the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2002. The scheme generated more than £4.4 million.
Victims were told that their assistance was required to release funds held in countries, including Nigeria. In return, they were promised a commission of between ten and twenty five percent. Eighteen individuals were defrauded through the scheme, with many losing tens of thousands of pounds.
In 2021, the SFO determined that Mr Jammal, who had fled the country before he could be charged, could not realistically be brought to trial. Given the unique circumstances of the case, investigators decided to pursue an alternative route to recover funds for victims.
Accounts linked to Mr Jammal were frozen, including more than £150,000 that had been destined for the family-controlled Jammal Trust Bank in Lebanon. The bank remains subject to United States sanctions for facilitating banking services for a terrorist organisation.
Investigators then undertook efforts to locate victims across multiple jurisdictions. The SFO worked with international partners, including the Australian Federal Police, Belgian Police, a French Liaison Magistrate, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to trace victims and obtain their consent for the civil recovery process.
The case marks a significant development in how proceeds of crime can be recovered, with funds returned directly to victims rather than transferred to the Treasury. The SFO has indicated that it intends to apply this approach in other suitable cases.
Nick Ephgrave, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said fraud devastates lives and confirmed the agency would continue to use every available tool to pursue justice for victims.
Ellie Reeves MP said the outcome demonstrated the Government’s determination to tackle fraud, disrupt perpetrators and recover illicit gains through international cooperation.