Gwynedd fraudster jailed for £6m money launder conspiracy

Michael Kinane has been jailed for seven years and eight months

A man has been jailed after he admitted conspiring to money launder nearly £6m.

Michael Kinane, 41, of Porthmadog, Gwynedd, was caught following a joint FBI and British police inquiry, Operation Blue Coastal.

The email systems of London-based pharmaceutical investment company Avillion were infiltrated, with requests for payments to be made.

At Caernarfon Crown Court, Kinane was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison.

He had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to money launder and three counts of fraud.

The targeted company was working with a US investor when fake emails were sent to staff, requesting money for legitimate work, to be paid into new accounts - one of which was Kinane's.

On 2 November 2018, the company deposited $7.8 million into his NatWest account.

Kinane, a British citizen born in Sri Lanka, had set up two foreign currency accounts.

Between 2 November and 5 November 2018, funds arriving in Kinane's accounts were separated between his associates to accounts in Poland, Germany, Hong Kong, China and Malaysia.

Judge Nicola Jones said she accepted he had not orchestrated the scheme, but was motivated by "greed".

"You played a key role in laundering this money, took great care to ensure the optimum amount could be moved between bank accounts.

"This was motivated by greed and I'm not sure you showed genuine remorse."

Kinane pictured after his arrest at London Gatwick airport in August 2019

Kinane also organised fraudulent purchases of high-value cars.

Funds were also transferred to separate accounts belonging to Kinane which were linked to a business he was the sole director of.

Identified as Magic Lily Ltd, it was alleged to have operated from his home address in Porthmadog.

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Police inquiries identified that the company existed, but did not have any stock, did not trade and did not file accounts or pay corporation tax.

Kinane was arrested on 8 August 2019 as he got off a plane from Turkey at London Gatwick Airport.

At the time of his arrest, police said he was wearing a Tag Heuer watch valued at £4,550.

He was also in possession of documents identifying he had recently invested the equivalent of £30,000 into a Dubai-based company.

North Wales Police have obtained banking documents for 32 accounts attributable to Kinane so far.

The 13-month investigation has resulted in the recovery and return of £1.2m ($1.6m) to the victim.

Avillion said it was "pleased justice has been done" and was in the process of recovering the money, adding it had consulted with experts to improve its cyber security.

Det Ch Insp Brian Kearney said: "This case has been solved because of the support we have received from the companies concerned, the work of the FBI in their parallel investigation and the excellent support we have received from the specialist fraud division of the Crown Prosecution Service in Merseyside."