A United Kingdom court has sentenced Luciana and Femi Akanbi, a Nigerian couple, to three years and nine months imprisonment for orchestrating a large‑scale tax fraud scheme that exploited sensitive employee data from Transport for London (TfL).
Delivering judgment at Woolwich Crown Court, prosecutors detailed how the couple accessed and misused personal information to file 139 fraudulent tax rebate claims, defrauding HM Revenue and Customs of more than £433,000 between September 2021 and January 2022. The total value of claims submitted was close to £650,000.
Justice David Miller described the case as TfL’s “worst‑ever data breach,” noting its impact on staff morale, institutional systems, and employee credit ratings. He emphasised that the fraud was only possible because Luciana Akanbi, employed in TfL’s human resources department, abused her position of trust to access the personal data of 107 employees.
Evidence revealed that the stolen funds were laundered through complex channels, with over £50,000 diverted into gambling accounts. The court also noted that financial pressures, including Femi Akanbi’s gambling problems following illness during the COVID‑19 pandemic, contributed to the crime.
The case adds to a growing list of fraud‑related prosecutions involving Nigerian nationals abroad: In September 2025, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju was arrested in the UK following a U.S. extradition request over alleged wire and computer fraud exceeding $235,000.
In February 2026, Matthew Akande was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and ordered to pay $1.39 million in restitution for his role in a U.S. tax fraud scheme.
Similarly, Afeez Olatunji Adewale was extradited from Nigeria in February 2026 over sexual extortion and related financial crimes in Pennsylvania.
... UK Court Jails Nigerian Couple for £433,000 Tax Fraud Using TfL Employee Data ... Naijaonpoint.