Conmen steal £2 million from the Olympic Development Authority

Ansmana Kamara, 31, from Sierra Leone was jailed for three and a half years at Southwark Crown Court after he admitted laundering the stolen cash.

The scam involved the conmen ringing up the ODA as representatives of Skanska. Skanska is one of the major contractors at the Olympic park in Stratford, East London.

The ‘representatives’ said the construction firm had a new bank account into which any money owed t it should be paid from then on. The London 2012 Games body – who did not suspect anything – ended up giving the conmen some £2.3 million.

After the money was paid into the accounts, Kamara started distributing large amounts to accomplices, before attempting to wire a £2 million cheque to Nigeria.

It was suspicious staff at the money transfer bureau who prevented the cash from being sent overseas, enabling the authorities to recover it before it was too late.