Police release identities of 10 wanted criminals linked to over £20m in fraud losses

The City of London Police and the National Crime Agency (NCA) have released on Monday (18 July) identities of 10 people who are wanted in crimes linked to over £20m ($26m) in fraud losses in the UK and abroad. The names have been released ahead of a detailed report that is to be brought out on the magnitude of fraud cases in the country.

The list includes Sandeep Arora, 42, who claimed to be a Bollywood producer and is accused of evading over £4.5m VAT and film tax. Marius Lucian Anton, a Romanian national, also features in the wanted list for allegedly committing multiple fraud offences linked to automated teller machines (ATMs) across UK since 2012.

Donald Toon, director of the NCA's Economic Crime Command, said the annual losses to the country's economy from fraud are estimated to be more than £190bn. Police believe that fraud is the most prevalent type of crime committed in the UK and are due to publish a report of the Crime Survey of England and Wales on Thursday (21 July) that will prove their belief. An interim report released in October 2015 found there were 5.2 million cases of fraud and 2.5 million cyber crimes committed in the country.

The list of the 10 wanted fraudsters was compiled by the Joint Fraud Taskforce – an initiative launched by Prime Minister Theresa May in February, when she was the home secretary in the David Cameron government. The initiative calls on law enforcement agencies, the financial sector and the government to work together to identify, nab and punish people committing fraud.

The other wanted criminals in the list include 33-year-old Alex Mckenzie, who allegedly uses aliases Jaswant Singh and James McKenzie. He is wanted by the Metropolitan Police for being a prolific fraudster accused of duping elderly people and his partners, who he met on the gay social networking app "Scruff". He is seen as a danger to the gay community.

Levi John Coyle, 36, of Colchester, is among the wanted for masterminding a boiler room fraud for which he was found guilty in September 2013. He was accused of selling fake shares and defrauding investors out of £700,000 between 2009 and 2010 while he claimed to be a broker. He was sentenced in his absence to six years imprisonment at the Old Bailey.

Felix Rooney, who uses aliases Michael Hannon and Martin Connors, is wanted after he was accused of duping a 72-year-old of close to £100,000. Adam James Stagg, 29, is wanted in connection with a £20,000 fraud in which he allegedly duped several people posing as a seller of designer and luxury watches.

43-year-old Alexia Thomas of Nigeria is wanted over her alleged involvement in the supply of false immigration documents to individuals looking to gain British citizenship. Faisal Butt, 39, of Lahore, Pakistan is wanted by The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) for conspiracy to defraud after compromising over one hundred customer bank accounts.

Bayo Lawrence Anoworin, 41, from Lagos, Nigeria, is wanted by the Lincolnshire police in connection with fraud offences and money laundering. He was part of an organised crime group that defrauded a number of NHS Trusts in the UK and Guernsey, stealing a total of £12m and laundering the money between 1 January 2011 and 31 July 2012, police said.

Naeem Ahmed, 44, of Arden Road Smethwick is wanted in connection with 21 fraud offences committed at mobile phone shops between 14 June, 2014, and 7 October, 2014.