Gang members who impersonated police officers to defraud eight victims of more than £4 million in crypto jailed
Anthony Ikenwe, Hamza Bashir and Kevin Nwamma used their stolen money to fund lavish lifestyles
Police bodycam footage shows the moment a gang member who impersonated police officers to defraud eight victims of more than £4 million worth of cryptocurrency is arrested in bed.
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Anthony Ikenwe, 29, Hamza Bashir, 23, and Kevin Nwamma, 25, called their victims and told them their cryptocurrency was at risk before persuading them to either provide account details or transfer the funds to what the victims believed were secure police accounts.
But a court heard they had designed convincing-looking police websites, and the victims’ cryptocurrency was immediately stolen and laundered through a complex financial network.
Detectives established during the investigation that the three men were living lavish lifestyles with the funds they had stolen.
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They bought cars, designer clothes and Rolexes as well as going on numerous luxury holidays, despite one of the men having a recorded income of £444 a year.
This was uncovered by the Met Police after victims came forward in January 2025 to report the fraud.
Footage released by the force shows Nwamma arrested at his home whilst in bed. The video shows him visibly shaken when officers entered his room last November.
Detectives identified common aliases, telephone numbers, websites, cryptocurrency wallets and spending patterns linking what initially appeared to be separate offences, but the evidence revealed an organised criminal network operating across multiple platforms and jurisdictions.
The group were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.
Ikenwe, of Bata Mews, East Tilbury, Essex, was jailed for six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering to run concurrently.
Bashir, of Beverley Way, Wimbledon, was sentenced to three years and nine months for conspiracy to commit fraud and three years for money laundering to run concurrently.
Nwamma, of Clarendon Road, Watford, was sentenced to six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering to run concurrently.
On November 20 last year, officers executed coordinated warrants at seven addresses across London and Essex, arresting all three members of the group and seizing numerous digital devices – including 40 mobile phones – luxury goods and cryptocurrency assets.
Officers subsequently recovered approximately £1 million directly linked to victim funds, while forensic examination of mobile phones and computers uncovered evidence of the conspiracy.
They were all charged the following day, November 21.
Ikenwe and Nwamma pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to defraud together with money laundering offences, including four counts of converting criminal property.
Bashir initially denied involvement and stood trial before changing his plea to guilty during the eighth day of proceedings.
He was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud and converting criminal property.
The investigation uncovered a lifestyle inconsistent with the declared income of the defendants.
Other examples discovered about the group’s spending included a car worth almost £60,000 bought using cryptocurrency, approximately £500,000 in cash held in a safety deposit box in Dubai, as well as holidays to destinations such as Thailand, Japan, Paris, Mykonos, the Maldives and the Seychelles.
Detective Inspector Geoff Donoghue, from the Metropolitan Police’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 and spent other people’s money to fund their extravagant lifestyles."