London: An Indian-origin former accountant has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years imprisonment for duping 100 million pounds from people in an international scam.

Shinder Singh Gangar, 46, from Leicestershire, promised clients a return of up to 160 per cent a year on money invested with him.

But there was no investment scheme and the money was not invested as promised, instead being put into off-shore bank accounts.

The transactions were conducted through a accountancy company Dobb White Co, which had offices in Leicester and Nottingham.

Gangar was joined in the scam by the company's partner, Alan White, 49, from Nottingham.

The pair used the cash to buy properties, provide loans to friends and invest in other speculative schemes.

The investigation into the scam was conducted over several years by the Serious Frauds Office along with the Economic Crime Unit of the Leicestershire Police.

Both were jailed for seven-and-a-half years at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday after they were convicted of conspiracy to defraud and attempting to bribe a US official.

The scam was kept going by using money from new investors to make interest payments to existing clients. It was falsely claimed that the invested funds were insured.

Sentencing them, Justice Langstaff said, "This fraud was deeply corrosive. The defendants obtained money from victims, that many could ill afford to part with, for instance money set aside for retirement funds."

He added that the "fraud was sophisticated as the defendants effectively ran a bank in the Caribbean as part of their fraud."

Source : PTI