Probe Eyes Attempted $420 Million Online Bank Heist
Israeli police are investigating with British forces an attempted robbery of 219 million pounds, or $421.2 million, at the London offices of the Japanese bank Sumitomo.
Source: ZD NetA gang hacked into computers at Sumitomo in October and attempted to transfer the cash to 10 accounts around the world, the Israeli fraud squad said on Thursday.
The planned theft has raised fears of the threat posed by organized gangs of computer hackers. British police have in the past warned financial institutions to be alert to such crimes.
A spokeswoman for Britain's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit confirmed there was an ongoing investigation into the attempted robbery but declined to offer further details. Israeli police said they had arrested a 32-year-old man in connection with the crime.
Yaron Bolondi was arrested in a suburb near Tel Aviv under suspicion of being involved in an attempt to launder 20 million pounds. Two British investigators had flown out to Israel.
"The fact is it was a total failure and it was a total failure along the line, and the crooks left their footprint, which we gave to the police," said Philip Martin, general counsel of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe.
How Sumitomo computers could have been accessed was unclear, as they would probably have had software defenses in place.
Sumitomo's Martin said: "Our computer systems are such that you can't get into them."
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