Money launderer drawing cash from mules' accounts gets three years... but who was he working for?

A MONEY launderer from Wolverhampton, who was involved in a £125K "money muling” scam, was sentenced to three years in prison, but it is not clear who he was cleaning the cash for.

Prince Sean Namalima, 20, (above and below) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to convert criminal property at Wolverhampton Crwon Court where he was sentenced yesterday, June 30.

Namalima was found to have transferred and withdrawn money from various bank accounts belonging to other individuals recruited to accept large amounts of illegally obtained money, known as money mules.

Police officers seized a mobile phone when they searched his address in Wolverhampton.

The phone contained images of bank payment cards and the financial and personal details of various account holders.

It also contained images of bundles of cash, which had either been taken at ATMs or in Namalima’s bedroom, and videos of him using ATMs or carrying large amounts of cash.

Additionally, police discovered chat messages showing Namalima’s conversations with money mules, who would allow their bank accounts to be used to cash out fraudulent funds.

Namalima was found to have committed this fraud at various locations across the West Midlands, including Wolverhampton, Walsall, Birmingham, and Warwick University campus.

The investigation was carried out by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a specialist police unit funded by the banking and cards industry.

Detective Constable Ben O'Shea, who investigated the case for the DCPCU, said: "This criminal mistakenly thought he could get away with committing fraud by exploiting others’ bank accounts to clean dirty money. “Fortunately, we were able to detect this fraudster and bring Mr Namalima to justice. “This sentencing is a warning to those who believe they can benefit financially from fraud that they will be caught and punished.”

No details have been released on the criminals Namalima was laundering money for and it is not clear if investigators are aware of who they are.