£1 million worth assets seized from Indian-origin woman, partner in UK
The NCA said it recovered £797,431 from their bank accounts; three Patek Philippe watches valued at £199,000; and a private car registration plate worth £15,000.
More than £1 million worth of assets have been recovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) following a civil recovery investigation into a Nigerian fraudster and his Indian-origin British partner, who led extravagant lifestyles despite their combined declared annual income never exceeding £49,000.
Ayodele Oluseye Odewale (also known as Ayodele Balogun), 42, and his partner of 21 years Sara Bharat Yadav, 40, have been ordered by the high court this week to hand over £1,011,431 to the NCA under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The NCA said it recovered £797,431 from their bank accounts; three Patek Philippe watches valued at £199,000; and a private car registration plate worth £15,000. Odewale has been convicted of dishonesty offences between 1998 and 2016, making millions from his scams.
Investigators said he typically targeted people living in wealthy areas, researching their details through public records and fraudulently applying for credit cards in their names, which he used to withdraw cash.
According to NCA, Odewale is also believed to have impersonated some of his victims in phone calls to their banks, ordered and intercepted replacement debit cards, which he then used to purchase high value items such as watches.
These watches were then traded and sold with the proceeds being laundered through bank accounts belonging to Odewale and Yadav.
NCA investigators found that the couple had hundreds of thousands of pounds passing through their bank accounts annually, despite Odewale not having had any legitimate employment earnings since his release from prison in 2005, and far in excess of Yadav’s salary as an operations manager at Imperial College.
Yadav and Odewale also bought properties in London and Liverpool. The properties were subsequently sold in what the NCA believed was an attempt to launder the proceeds of Odewale’s criminal activities.
The NCA said the couple also sent their three children to a private school which costs £37,000 per year, besides enjoying frequent luxury holidays in India, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Cape Verde and Turkey.
Yadav, who remained in the UK when Odewale left for Nigeria, was found by the high court judge Mrs Justice McGowan to have knowingly benefited from assets gained through unlawful conduct. The judge stated that Yadav “dishonestly chose to turn a blind eye to the illegitimacy of those funds” and enjoyed the luxuries it provided.
Andy Lewis, head of Asset Denial at the NCA, said: “Odewale and Yadav had extravagant lifestyles funded from stealing the identities of honest, law abiding citizens. We have recovered their assets so they see no benefit from their unlawful activity”.
