Three men were jailed at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday for a £4 million cryptocurrency fraud in which they impersonated police officers to steal from eight victims, the Metropolitan Police said. Anthony Ikenwe, 29, and Kevin Nwamma, 25, each received six-year sentences for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering, running concurrently, while Hamza Bashir, 23, was sentenced to three years and nine months for fraud and three years for laundering, also concurrent. The gang built fake police websites and convinced victims to share account details or transfer funds to what appeared to be secure police accounts, then laundered the stolen cryptocurrency through a complex network. Police recovered approximately £1 million linked to victims and are continuing to trace assets. The case reflects a broader pattern of impersonation scams targeting cryptocurrency holders, according to the Met's Cryptocurrency Team statement.
Court Sentences Three Men for £4 Million Fraud Scheme
The trio phoned eight victims claiming to be officers, warned them their crypto was at risk, and talked them into sharing account details or moving funds to what they believed were secure police accounts, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. The group had built convincing fake police websites, and the coins were immediately stolen and funneled through a complex laundering network.
Ikenwe and Nwamma pleaded guilty in April, while Bashir denied involvement and stood trial, changing his plea on the eighth day after being shown extensive evidence. The case began when victims came forward in January 2025.
Police Recover £1 Million and Seize Luxury Assets
In November, officers raided seven addresses across London and Essex, arresting the three men and seizing luxury goods, cryptocurrency and 40 mobile phones. They recovered around £1 million tied to victims. Luxury goods recovered in the searches were valued at more than £26,000.
Officers linked more than £1 million in crypto to wallets controlled by Ikenwe, and traced stolen funds flowing into bank accounts tied to Nwamma's luxury chauffeur business. The Met said it is still working with UK and international partners to identify others linked to the conspiracy and to claw back assets for the victims.
The Met's Cryptocurrency Team said it used a data-driven approach—piecing together blockchain transactions, exchange records, communications, financial records and internet service provider data—to link what first looked like separate crimes into a single organized network operating across multiple platforms and jurisdictions.
Gang Spent Stolen Funds on Cars and International Travel
Detectives found the men living far beyond their means. One had a recorded income of just £444 a year, yet the group bought a car worth almost £60,000 with crypto, kept around £500,000 in cash in a safety deposit box in Dubai, and holidayed in Thailand, Japan, Paris, Mykonos, the Maldives and the Seychelles.
They shopped at Harrods, Hermès and Louis Vuitton and routinely converted crypto into prepaid payment cards, according to the Met.
Impersonation Scams Target Crypto Holders Globally
Impersonating police has become a recurring thread in crypto crime. The closest parallel to the Met case came last year, when a scammer posing as UK police stole $2.8 million in Bitcoin from a victim's hardware wallet. In the US, fraudsters posing as Denver police convinced a woman she had missed jury duty, then had her feed cash into a Bitcoin ATM to clear a bogus warrant—one of a wave of impersonation scams the FBI says has hit older Americans hardest.
Sometimes the fake officers turn up in person. In France, robbers dressed as police held a couple at knifepoint in a $1 million Bitcoin robbery, while in Ukraine, men posing as cops were arrested for extorting $250,000 in Tether from an entrepreneur.
Detective Inspector Geoff Donoghue of the force's Cryptocurrency Team said, "This was a highly complex investigation into a group of calculated manipulators who exploited victims' trust by pretending to be police officers," adding that, "Criminals should be under no illusion—policing is evolving alongside technology."
FAQ
What sentences did the three men receive for the UK crypto fraud?
Anthony Ikenwe, 29, and Kevin Nwamma, 25, each received six-year sentences for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering, running concurrently. Hamza Bashir, 23, was sentenced to three years and nine months for fraud and three years for laundering, also concurrent. All three were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.
How much cryptocurrency did police recover from the fraud scheme?
Police recovered approximately £1 million linked to victims out of the total £4 million stolen. Officers seized luxury goods valued at more than £26,000, 40 mobile phones, and traced more than £1 million in crypto to wallets controlled by Ikenwe. The Met said it is still working with UK and international partners to claw back additional assets for the victims.
