Fraud Ring In Hacking Attack On 60 Banks

Sixty million euro has been stolen from bank accounts in a massive cyber bank raid after fraudsters raided dozens of financial institutions around the world. According to a joint report by software security firm McAfee and Guardian Analytics, more than 60 firms have suffered from what it has called an "insider level of understanding". "The fraudsters' objective in these attacks is to siphon large amounts from high balance accounts, hence the name chosen for this research - Operation High Roller," the report said. "If all of the attempted fraud campaigns were as successful as the Netherlands example we describe in this report, the total attempted fraud could be as high as 2bn (£1.6bn)." The automated malicious software programme was discovered to use servers to process thousands of attempted thefts from both commercial firms and private individuals. The stolen money was then sent to so-called mule accounts in caches of a few hundreds and 100,000 euro (£80,000) at a time. Credit unions, large multinational banks and regional banks have all been attacked. Sky News defence and security editor Sam Kiley said: "It does include British financial institutions and has jumped over to North America and South America. "What they have done differently from routine attacks is that they have got into the bank servers and constructed software that is automated. "It can get around some of the mechanisms that alert the banking system to abnormal activity." The details of the global fraud come just a day after the MI5 boss warned of the new cyber security threat to UK business. McAfee researchers have been able to track the global fraud, which still continues, across countries and continents. "They have identified 60 different servers, many of them in Russia, and they have identified one alone that has been used to steal 60m euro," Kiley said. "There are dozens of servers still grinding away at this fraud – in effect stealing money."

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Asil Nadir arrives at the Old Bailey with his wife Nur to face 66 charges of theft and fraud.

 Photograph: Nicholas Razzell

Polly Peck tycoon Asil Nadir fled Britain because he was a broken man with no hope of a fair trial over allegations that he stole nearly £150m from the collapsed firm, the Old Bailey heard .

Nineteen years after he left for Northern Cyprus, the 71-year-old broke his silence as he took the stand in his fraud trial.

Nadir told the jury he left Britain on 4 May 1993 after his mental health collapsed, he was accused of trying to bribe a judge, and believed his post had been tampered with. Denying all charges, he said: "By the time I left the UK, I was a totally broken man. My health was in tatters, my hope on a fair trial was in tatters. I had zero hope of receiving a fair trial."

Asked by his lawyer, Philip Hackett QC, how his health had been affected, he added: "I was not well. Half way through the proceedings in early 1992 I was getting very unwell and the judge, Justice Tucker, made a ruling that I should see a psychiatrist and should have treatment. All through my life up to that point I had been in excellent health."

The court was also told about the "frightening situation" Nadir found himself in after he was accused of trying to bribe his original trial judge.

His lawyer read a transcript from a pre-trial hearing in November 1992 when the conspiracy allegations, which were later dropped, were first put to Nadir, his lawyer Anthony Scrivener QC, and Justice Tucker – who were both implicated.

Denying any involvement in a conspiracy, Nadir said: "It was a frightening situation. I still remember the concerns and the fear the lordship [Justice Tucker] had in his face. I had laid all my hopes on getting an independent trial but was very worried I would not. The judge's expression is not one that one wants to see."

He added: "Anthony Scrivener QC turned to me and said he was extremely worried about it. He tried to get me to give him permission to get him [Scrivener] off the case [but] I didn't give him permission."

The businessman's evidence was heard on the first day of the defence's case in a trial that started in January. It is the first time Nadir has taken the stand since he voluntarily returned from exile in his native Northern Cyprus in 2010.

The court heard that he believed private letters had been tampered with after his post appeared to have been opened, leading to a private detective being hired to investigate. He said: "I did have concerns that my mail was being intercepted. I was not getting mail in the normal way people get mail. Every now and then I would have a pile of opened envelopes with a plastic band wrapped around them."

Nadir explained to the court that he had started his life in business as a six-year-old selling newspapers in his home town. He arrived in the UK in 1980 and bought the then small textile firm Polly Peck, which had a turnover of £2m. He turned it into a conglomerate worth £2bn.

Explaining to the court why he had moved money to a Cyprus-based subsidiary, he claimed this was because he could get a higher rate of interest from the Mediterranean island's banks.

He added that many Cypriots, from both the Greek and Turkish sectors of the island, wanted to invest in the company.

"I have seen dozens of Greek Cypriots on the register of PPI [Polly Peck] because they saw how successful it was from their neighbours. It was very attractive for them to invest in those shares."

But by 1991 Nadir was declared personally bankrupt, he was sued by Polly Peck administrators, and could no longer afford his own lawyers in civil actions, the court heard.

On Tuesday, he claimed the company, which went bust in 1990, was not insolvent. "I think it had a tremendous future and this attitude was shared by the top brokers and investors in this country and worldwide. Finance was available from Turkey. The amount discussed was £70m to obtain a standstill [agreement].

"The finance was from three top Turkish banks on the instigation of the president of Turkey. It was a committed financial arrangement."

The Serious Fraud Office, which is prosecuting the case, claims Nadir abused his power as chairman and chief executive of Polly Peck. The case against him alleges that he "helped himself to tens of millions of pounds" of Polly Peck's money in transfers of more than £146m. The jury previously heard Nadir used the money to secretly buy shares to support the firm's share price and buy expensive properties for himself and relatives.

Staying in his Mayfair home in central London under strict bail conditions, he is set to give more evidence on Wednesday. The trial continues.

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Pensions consultancy reports huge increase in pension scheme fraud

The annual report, from consultants Baker Tilly, recorded a 55% increase in pension schemes reporting fraudulent activity. Of the survey respondents 19% said they had experienced cases of fraud, compared to 12% of respondents in 2011. “Awareness of the issue may be rising against a backdrop of more pension frauds hitting the headlines, including high-profile investigations involving illegal cash transfers, false schemes, money laundering and bribery allegations,” it said. The accuracy of member data was considered the most vulnerable area for fraud by the survey’s respondents. Most of the reported incidences of pension scheme fraud came from larger schemes with more than 10,000 members, Baker Tilly said. These schemes accounted for 70% of reported fraud cases despite making up only 31% of respondents. However, the report acknowledged that larger schemes were more likely to identify problems due to “stricter governance frameworks”. Pensions law expert Simon Tyler of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that it was a "sad fact of life" that fraud levels tended to increase during times of economic stress. However, he noted that the report had highlighted an increase in more serious types of fraud. "Most pension schemes will have come across a spouse 'forgetting' to report a pensioner's death,

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Three senior businessmen who cooked up an elaborate scheme to siphon almost £9 million from Sainsbury’s in a corrupt potato deal, were jailed today.

John Maylam, right, entered into a corrupt deal with David Baxter, left, operations director at Greenvale, which supplies half of Sainsbury's potatoes Photo: TONY PALMER 

John Maylam, 44, a senior buyer for the supermarket chain, accepted almost £5 million in bribes from a supplier, which he “frivolously” spent on lavish holidays to Monaco and the South of France, a top of the range Aston Martin and in luxury hotels such as Claridge's.

He colluded with John Baxter, a director at Greenvale who massively overcharged Sainsbury's for its crop.

Maylam admitted corruption and acquiring criminal property and was jailed for four years. Baxter, 50, admitted the same charges and was jailed for 30 months.

With the proceeds, the two men lived “like millionaires”, running up a £350,000 bill at Claridge's, where they received brown envelopes stuffed with up to £2,000 in cash and hiring a Sunseeker motor yacht during a trip to Jersey.

For Maylam’s 40th birthday, he was treated to a five–star £350,000 holiday to Monaco for the grand prix, as well as stays in luxury hotels in Cannes and St Tropez.

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