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A gang of five pleaded guilty today in a £17 million ($46.3 million) scam that would have resulted in Britain's biggest-ever case of credit card fraud, police said.
The four men and one woman used various aliases and lived a life of luxury, spending the money on property investments and international holidays, British Transport Police said.
None of the five were British citizens, although police were unable to confirm all of their nationalities.
The conspiracy was first uncovered after a transport police officer stopped Dariusz Zyla at London's Victoria tube station and found him in possession of 40 pre-paid mobile phone top-up cards encoded with details of stolen credit cards, mainly issued in the United States.
Officers searched his house and found equipment to manufacture credit cards and evidence of international money transfers, which showed he was part of an organised international money laundering operation, police said.
A specialist credit card fraud investigation team started an 18-month long investigation into the activity, tracing the gang's movements across Europe and the United States and recovering more than 32,000 credit card numbers.
Working with the FBI, Europol, Estonian Police and other European police forces, London Underground and the banking industry, the officers uncovered a money trail to Poland, Estonia, Russia, the United States and the Virgin islands.
Zyla, Krysztof Rogaliski and Roman Zykin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to transfer criminal property ahead of their trial which was due to start last night (NZT).
Zykin's wife Malgorzata pleaded guilty to tranferring criminal property, while Hannes Pajasalu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
Because the gang used identity documents in false names, officers were at times "effectively chasing phantoms", police said in a statement.
But BTP detective chief inspector Paul Shrubsole said bank transactions, emails, mobile phone records and retail purchases ultimately confirmed financial links between group members.
"Quick-time analysis of married couple Roman Zykin and Malgorzata Zykin's bank accounts eventually led officers to a sports club in Paddington and from there they were traced to their home address," he said.
The couple were arrested at their rented apartment in central London. They also own a share of a 900,000 pound house in Hertfordshire.
- REUTERS
