Nigerian Couple Jailed for Stealing over 100 Employees Data to Get £650k in Tax Rebates

A married couple who stole sensitive data belonging to more than 100 Transport for London (TfL) staff and used it to file fra¥dulent tax rebate claims worth nearly £650,000 have been jailed.

Luciana Akanbi, 38, who worked in HR at TfL, illegally accessed colleagues’ confidential records, including passport numbers, National Insurance details and bank information. Together with her husband, Femi Akanbi, 51, she used the stolen data to submit 139 f@ke tax rebate claims to HMRC.

Woolwich Crown Court heard that the offences took place between September 2021 and January 2022, resulting in a loss of over £433,000 in public funds. The court was told Luciana accessed 107 employee records, while 40 of those identities were used to create fra¥dulent claims.

Sentencing the couple to three years and nine months in prison each, Judge David Miller described the incident as the “worst ever” data breach in TfL’s history. He said the breach forced TfL to overhaul its systems and negatively affected staff morale and performance.

Prosecutors said the scheme involved careful planning and the use of multiple devices to create fake self-assessment accounts. Much of the stolen money was quickly moved through complex money-laundering activities.

The court also heard that financial pressure and gambling losses contributed to the offences, with more than £50,000 reportedly paid into gambling accounts. Despite some funds being traced to the couple’s bank accounts, the judge said most of the money had already been spent.

Officials from TfL said the fraud diverted hundreds of thousands of pounds that could have been used for public services. Authorities confirmed that new security measures have since been introduced to strengthen staff data protection.

HMRC also warned that anyone attempting to defra¥d the tax system would be investigated and prosecuted.