Nine victims of an email fraudster are set to receive a share of £400,000 in recovered funds 24 years after the crime.

The compensations comes after the Serious Fraud Office pursued the proceeds of crime using an innovative technique.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) says it has successfully recovered more than £400,000 to be returned to nine fraud victims almost 24 years after they were defrauded. 

Investigators from the SFO used civil recovery action to reclaim funds for victims of a fraud committed in 2002. As there has been no conviction in the cases, the funds would normally go to the Treasury but it will now be shared with victims.

The recovery of defrauded cash relates to money taken by Abdullah Ali Jammal, a former director of a retail-depositor bank, who operated an email fraud scheme from the UK between 2001 and 2002, stealing over £4.4m from victims.

Victims were told that their help was needed to release money from countries, including Nigeria, with the promise of a 10% to 25% commission in return. This ‘advanced fee’ scheme cheated 18 people, many of whom lost tens of thousands of pounds. 

In 2021, having determined that Mr Jammal – who fled the country before being charged – could not realistically be convicted, the SFO said it decided that the case’s unique circumstances merited, an “alternative approach to recovering money for victims.”

Mr Jammal’s accounts were frozen, including over £150,000 bound for the family-controlled Jammal Trust Bank in Lebanon, which remains sanctioned by the US for facilitating banking for a terrorist organisation.   

Investigators then spoke directly to victims around the world, working with the Australian Federal Police, Belgian Police, French Liaison Magistrate, US’s Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to locate them and secure their consent for action. 

This SFO said this demonstrated a new approach to civil recovery proceedings, with funds being returned directly to victims rather than the Treasury. The SFO will now seek to use this technique across other relevant cases, it says. 

The compensation victims will receive has been calculated on a pro-rata basis against the total recoverable property, with index rates applied to reflect the change in the money's value over 23 years. 

Nick Ephgrave, director of the Serious Fraud Office, said: “Fraud devastates lives and the SFO will pursue justice for victims using every tool at our disposal.

"This groundbreaking case demonstrates that determination. After years of complex international investigation, we're returning stolen money directly to the people who were defrauded.” 

Solicitor General Ellie Reeves MP said: “The SFO has successfully secured thousands of pounds, going directly back to the victims. This demonstrates their innovative approach to recovering illicit gains, working with international partners, and relentless commitment to delivering justice.”