A man accused of taking part in a series of cyber bank raids has been cleared, but 13 others were convicted.
Akash Vaghela, of Beavers Lane Hounslow, was accused of being part of a gang which used hi-tech gadgets to plunder more than £1.25 million from Barclays Bank.
But the charge of conspiracy to steal against the 27-year-old was dismissed by a judge at Southwark Crown Court, where 13 other people were convicted over their part in the crime.
Members of the gang used a keyboard, video and mouse device to gain access to computers at the high street bank and steal money from customers' accounts in April and June last year.
Members of the gang had also stolen or intercepted about 500 bank and credit cards, which they used to buy Rolex watches and other expensive jewellery and electrical goods worth more than £1 million in total.
They were stopped in their tracks in September last year after attempting to plunder accounts at Santander. Police raided a shed in Kingsley Avenue, Hounslow, and recovered computers logged into Santander bank accounts, this time before any money could be stolen.
Two men were convicted and another man was cleared as a trial at Southwark Crown Court concluded last Thursday (March 13). A further 11 men had already admitted a series of charges; they included:
* Dean Outram, 34, of Clifford Gardens, Kensal Rise, who had admitted two counts of conspiracy to steal
* Darius Valentin Boldor, 34, of Ebury Bridge Road, Westminster, who pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy to steal
* Tony Colston-Hayter, 48, of Seymour Street, Westminster, who admitted conspiracy to commit fraud, two counts of conspiracy to steal, two counts of possession of articles for use in fraud and one count of theft
* Asad Ali Qureshi, 26, of Old Brompton Road, Kensington & Chelsea, who admitted conspiracy to money launder
* Segun Ogunfidodo, 26, of White City Estate, Shepherd's Bush, who admitted conspiracy to commit fraud
* James Lewis Murphy, 39, of Ebury Bridge Road, Westminster, who admitted Proceeds of Crime Act offences.
Five other people have been charged in connection with the investigation and criminal proceedings against them are ongoing.
Deputy Chief Constable Peter Goodman, the Association of Chief Police Officers' lead officer for national cyber crime, said: "This result demonstrates the determination of the police, not just in London but across the country, to pursue criminals who engage in serious and organised cyber crime.
"We know that criminals are continually looking to exploit new innovation to commit these offences against our financial institutions, businesses, public sector organisations and even individual members of the public, but we are also keeping pace with advances in technology-enabled crime."
