"Sheth abused his position of trust at the bank to knowingly open sham accounts for the network, providing a vital service which enabled them to launder £16 million worth of stolen cash."
Iurie Mereacre ran the money laundering service from his home in Woodford Green, London, along with his associates, brothers Iurie Bivol and Serghei Bivol, and Ryingota Gincota.
Over a three year period, the group set up and controlled around 400 bank accounts in a conspiracy which involved receiving stolen funds into one account, then dispersing it in smaller amounts to a number of other accounts. This process would be repeated several times to disguise the source of the money before it was transferred back to cyber criminals in Eastern Europe.
The NCA says Nilesh Sheth, a personal banking manager at Barclays, was instrumental in the opening of a large number of these ‘mule’ accounts, using false ID and address documents.
Prior to their arrests on 3 November 2016, the group was under surveillance by the NCA and was seen meeting with Sheth on numerous occasions at the bank, and in public places including restaurants and car parks.
Sheth and both Bivol brothers pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Gincota opted to go to trial but later pleaded guilty to fraud offences yesterday.
Barclays worked closely with the case team on the investigation which continues to be supported by the UK financial and payments sector.
Mike Hulett, head of Operations at the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said: “Criminals rely heavily on money launderers like Mereacre and his associates in order to access their profits.
“Sheth abused his position of trust at the bank to knowingly open sham accounts for the network, providing a vital service which enabled them to launder £16 million worth of stolen cash.
“We have had tremendous support from colleagues across law enforcement and the banking industry to shut down this money laundering network, causing serious disruption to the organised cyber criminals who used their services.”
Rose-Marie Franton, from the CPS International Justice and Organised Crime Division, said: “These men deliberately and persistently set about transferring millions of pounds of stolen money out of the UK to eastern Europe.
“Working closely with NCA investigators, the CPS presented a strong case with the result that today all the defendants have admitted their guilt.
“The evidence we gathered showed how Nilesh Sheth abused his position as a bank employee for personal gain by facilitating the laundering the criminal proceeds of an organised crime group both within the UK and across borders.”
A Barclays spokesperson commented: "This is a rare occasion where an individual deliberately exploited our systems. We have worked with and supported the NCA with this investigation and welcome the outcome of proceedings. Barclays will always support law enforcement in identifying criminal activity and bringing prosecutions."
