🇬🇧
UNITED KINGDOM
#8 WCI
FRAUD TYPES
APP fraud, card fraud, money muling, romance scams, money laundering
KEY FACTS
£130M+ of London property frozen over Chen Zhi's Prince Group (Oct 2025). Qian Zhimin: 61,000 bitcoin (~£5B) seized; sentenced to 11 years 8 months (Nov 2025). APP (authorised push payment) fraud is a leading UK loss. A significant money-laundering hub.
REPORT FRAUD IN UNITED KINGDOM6▸
6 agencies you can contact. Tap one for how to reach it and what to have ready.
AFAction Fraud▸
NATIONAL · FRAUD REPORTING
NCSNational Cyber Security Centre▸
NATIONAL · CYBER / CRYPTO
FCAFinancial Conduct Authority▸
NATIONAL · FINANCIAL REGULATION
COLCity of London Police Economic Crime▸
LOCAL / CITY · ECONOMIC CRIME
NCANational Crime Agency▸
NATIONAL · SERIOUS CRIME
HMRHMRC Fraud Hotline▸
NATIONAL · TAX
BORN HERE3▸
3 people in our case files were born in United Kingdom. Tap to open the report.
OPERATED HERE10▸
Physically based or working in United Kingdom — lived, ran an office, met victims or was stationed here, per the record. Hacking a target here does not count.
London, United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
1983–2008Madoff Securities International, the London office, used to move money between the scheme and the family; wound up after the arrest.SOURCE: SFO; UK administrators' reports
London and York, United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
2018Attempted £40M property purchases fail checks; the Met's investigation opens.SOURCE: Met Police
Apr 2024Arrested in York; devices hold 61,000 BTC.SOURCE: Met Police
11 Nov 2025Sentenced at Southwark Crown Court: 11 years 8 months.SOURCE: Met Police
London, United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
June 2016Headlines the OneCoin event at Wembley Arena, promising the coin would 'kill Bitcoin'.SOURCE: BBC
London, United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
2006–2011Joins UBS as a graduate trainee in 2006; on the Delta One desk books fictitious hedges from 2008 while running unauthorised positions; arrested 15 Sept 2011 after UBS finds a $2.3B loss.SOURCE: Southwark Crown Court; UBS
2012–2015Convicted at Southwark Crown Court on 20 Nov 2012; 7 years; released June 2015.SOURCE: BBC
London, United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
Mar 1995The London meeting where the fake 'governor' is introduced to Sakaguchi.SOURCE: case brief
United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
May 2017WannaCry cripples NHS hospitals among ~200,000 computers worldwide (charged).SOURCE: DOJ; CISA
London, United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
Nov 2020–Nov 2022Builds and runs iSpoof: 59,000 users, ~10 million calls a year, £43M+ lost by UK victims.SOURCE: Met Police; Infosecurity
8 Nov 2022Site taken down; arrested; 142 arrests across the Europol operation.SOURCE: Met Police; Europol
18 May 2023Sentenced at Southwark Crown Court: 13 years 4 months.SOURCE: Met Police
London, United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
Dec 1989~20,000 disks mailed from London to a medical mailing list, including WHO AIDS conference delegates; demands $189 to a Panama post-office box.SOURCE: retrospectives
1990–Nov 1991Held at Brixton; charged with blackmail; ruled unfit to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court in November 1991.SOURCE: retrospectives
United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
Dec 2023UK sanctions for trafficking to Shwe Kokko's scam operations.SOURCE: UK FCDO
London, United Kingdom
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
3 Aug 2015Convicted at Southwark Crown Court on eight counts; 14 years, cut to 11.SOURCE: Judiciary
29 Jan 2021Released on licence after five and a half years.SOURCE: Press
23 Jul 2025Supreme Court quashes the conviction; the SFO will not retry.SOURCE: [2025] UKSC 29
OUR CASES BY CATEGORY▸
Share of the 11 cases tied to United Kingdom (born or operated here)
FRAUD METHODS TIED HERE18▸
From the Global Fraud Encyclopedia and the cases above. Tap a method for its page.
#1 Pig Butchering (Romance-Investment Scam)used in our cases ▸#2 State-Sponsored Crypto Theftused in our cases ▸#3 Ransomwareused in our cases ▸#4 Ponzi Schemeused in our cases ▸#5 Business Email Compromise (BEC)used in our cases ▸#7 Money Launderingused in our cases ▸#8 Securities Fraud / Insider Tradingused in our cases ▸#15 Friendly Fraud / Chargeback AbuseEncyclopedia ▸#20 Wire Fraudused in our cases ▸#21 Advance Fee Fraud (419 Scam)used in our cases ▸#22 Phishingused in our cases ▸#29 Pyramid Scheme / MLM Fraudused in our cases ▸#33 Money Mule Recruitmentused in our cases ▸#35 Cryptocurrency Ponzi / HYIPused in our cases ▸#38 Real Estate FraudEncyclopedia ▸#53 Vishing (Voice Phishing)used in our cases ▸#60 Pension / Retirement FraudEncyclopedia ▸#81 Affinity Fraudused in our cases ▸KNOWN FOR▸
THE PICTURE▸
Fraud is the most common crime in England and Wales, and UK banks and card firms reported £1.28 billion stolen through payment fraud in 2025, up 4%, including a record £576.4 million lost to authorised push payment (APP) scams (UK Finance, June 2026). Investment scams were the single largest APP category at £221.5 million, while card-not-present fraud remained the biggest unauthorised category. London is also a global hub for laundering fraud proceeds through property and companies, shown by the 61,000-bitcoin seizure in the Qian Zhimin case (Metropolitan Police / CPS, 2025). Mandatory reimbursement of APP victims (up to £85,000) has applied since October 2024 under Payment Systems Regulator rules.
TOP FRAUDSTERS FROM HERE1▸
Achilleas Kallakis CONVICTEDREPORT PENDING
Over £760M (loans obtained) · 2000s
Used aliases and forged documents to obtain bank loans for London property in the UK's largest mortgage fraud.
SOURCE: Southwark Crown Court / SFO, Jan 2013
FRAUD BY CATEGORY▸
share of reported payment-fraud losses (computed from UK Finance loss values; total £1,279.8M) · 2025
SOURCE: UK Finance, Annual Fraud Report 2026, June 2026
KEY NUMBERS▸
£1.28B Payment fraud losses in 2025 (up 4%) (UK Finance, Jun 2026)
£576.4M APP scam losses in 2025 (up 19%) (UK Finance, Jun 2026)
£354.3M APP losses reimbursed to victims (61%) (UK Finance, Jun 2026)
£1.68B Unauthorised fraud prevented by firms in 2025 (UK Finance, Jun 2026)
WHO FIGHTS IT▸
Serious Fraud Office, National Crime Agency, City of London Police (national lead force) and Action Fraud / Report Fraud.
Payment Systems Regulator mandatory APP reimbursement (from 7 Oct 2024).
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 created a 'failure to prevent fraud' offence (in force Sept 2025).
Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) disrupts organised card fraud gangs.
SOURCES▸
UK Finance, Annual Fraud Report 2026, Jun 2026
Wikipedia summary of court record (Qian Zhimin), 2025
SFO / press on Kallakis, Jan 2013
Southwark Crown Court (Adoboli), Nov 2012
Case lists and figures compiled September 2026 from court records, regulators and major press; statuses change. Series reports above are fact-checked case files.