*One rather has to like the British simplicity of this alleged crime scheme;
it has a certain robust, Arthur Conan Doyle quality to it.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/gang-tried-to-steal-163229m-from-bank-1488636.html
(...)
The plot started in September 2004 when Kevin O'Donoghue, a security guard at the UK headquarters of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, helped the Belgian computer hackers Jan Van Osselaer and Gilles Poelvoorde to sneak into the building at night and install hidden cloning software on several computers. It took screenshots and copied usernames and passwords of the bank's employees which Osselaer and Poelvoorde used when they sneaked into the bank on 1 October 2004.
That night, between 11.30pm and 4.30am, they attempted to make 10 transfers, all of which failed, prompting them to return again the following day and attempt another 11 transfers.
In total, they tried to transfer £229m from companies including Nomura Asset Managements and Toshiba to bank accounts held in the names of various companies the gang had set up in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain. But, crucially, both attempts failed because the gang typed the wrong numbers into the system.
Two of the gang's other members then attempted to try to recoup some of the money, the court was told. It is alleged that on Sunday 5 October 2004 Hugh Rodley, who preferred to be known as Lord Rodley, a title which he had purchased, and David Nash sent a fax to the Emirates Bank in Dubai, where they held a company account, attempting, and failing, to secure the release of €12.25m (£11.5m).
Staff at Sumitomo Mitsui became aware that something was wrong when they returned to work to find that their computers had been tampered with and cables had been cut. By this time police were already aware of the gang and had been watching them for several days.
They arrested O'Donoghue, 33, and the jury, at Snaresbrook Crown Court, heard that he was the "inside man" who had tampered with the CCTV, in an attempt to avoid detection. Mr Farrell added: "His role was to let them into the bank and to cover their tracks." When his activity aroused the suspicion of a colleague, who asked why O'Donoghue was allowing people into the building at night, he said that it was for a late-night poker game.
Van Osselaer, 32, was arrested two years later in November 2006 at his home in Belgium where police found a laptop containing the cloning software used on the bank's computers.
Poelvoorde, 34, was arrested two years after that in October 2008. Those three have since pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal from the bank.
Hugh Rodley, 60, David Nash, 47, and Inger Malmros, a 58-year-old Swedish woman, are all alleged to have set up the companies and the bank accounts which were supposed to receive the stolen millions. They are on trial charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. All three deny the charges....
*(((This case also has the unusual distinction of provoking fanmail; I've covered cybercrime events on BEYOND THE BEYOND for years now, but very rarely hear from participants or their friends. Once I heard from the PR director of an Indian gentleman who didn't want his name appeared on Google *in connection* with a post involving some Indian criminality; since he wasn't the criminal and had nothing much to do with the investigation, I obliged him. Besides, his PR agent was quite nice about it.)))
(((The Lord Hugh Rodley caper has a rather different flavor:)))
"I write to you to show my disgust at your method of reporting. you dont even come from this country- so how can you report on something that you know absolutely nothing about. I find your sarcastic method of writing somewhat distasteful and unprofessional. One thinks that you should stick to your Science fiction as fiction seems to be all that you are capable of. Theres nothing worse than writers who try and lead the readers thoughts to follow their own very misguided perceptions. Also society today seems to be quick to judge, it can certainly be seen from small minded individuals like yourself that innocent til proven guilty is clearly not a standard that will ever be achieved in our society. I believe that facts should be gathered correctly but also that you should report on things that are slightly more meaningful. Running down innocent people is disgusting. I know this man personally. he is a very kind man who is innocent and certainly doesnt deserve NOBODYS like yourself sticking their noses in, because they have nothing more constructive to do with their time. I have to say you have a very sad and pathetic existence. NOT AN AVID FAN.)))
(((Well, for better or worse, my unconstructive nose has been in this arena quite a while.
If any of the participants in this dustup are innocent – and lord knows
I've seen that happen in cybercrime sweeps – I truly pity them and wish them well, because they're in more trouble right now than if they had broken both thighbones.)))
