A former employee of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), his Nigerian wife and a Nigerian businessman have been convicted for defrauding the health service of £279,000 through the illegal resale of medical equipment.
The NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) disclosed that Emmanuel Nbanga, 45, was found guilty of fraud by abuse of position and fraudulent trading following a trial at Worcester Crown Court.
Nbanga, who is originally from Sierra Leone but grew up in Nigeria before relocating to the UK, was accused of stealing medical supplies from the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and selling them back to the same organisation.
His wife, Remilekun Olusesi, 40, was convicted of money laundering through the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property, while Birmingham-based Nigerian businessman Solomon Adeyemi, 57, was found guilty of fraudulent trading.
According to the NHSCFA, Nbanga worked as a materials management assistant at Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, where he had access to operating theatre stock rooms.
The agency said between October 2016 and September 2019, he stole medical supplies from the hospital and handed them over to Adeyemi, who was the director of Ultimate Medical (UK) Ltd (UML), a company based in Tyseley, Birmingham.
The company allegedly sold the stolen items back to the hospital trust, resulting in the NHS buying back its own equipment, in some cases multiple times.
Dave Horsley of the NHSCFA described the case as shocking, noting that the stolen items were medical supplies intended for use in patient operations.
“The stock was intended for operations on patients,” Horsley said.
He explained that the fraud was uncovered after the trust became suspicious during a tendering process when UML offered medical supplies at unusually low prices.
According to him, further checks revealed that identification numbers on some supplied items matched equipment previously ordered and delivered by the trust.
Investigators also found that funds paid by the trust into UML’s account were transferred to Lawyis Medical UK Ltd, a shell company allegedly established by Olusesi, as well as personal accounts linked to the three defendants.
Horsley said some of the supplied medical equipment was discovered to be unsuitable for use and had to be removed from circulation to protect patients.
“The more they looked, the more it unravelled,” he said.
Stephen Collman, Managing Director of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, described the incident as an extensive and sustained fraud that cost the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds.
He said the offence was worsened by the fact that it was allegedly carried out by individuals who abused positions of trust within the health service.
The NHSCFA said the three convicts would be sentenced at a later date, adding that Adeyemi and Nbanga were remanded in custody after the judge considered them flight risks.
Horsley added that beyond the financial losses, such crimes could damage public confidence in the NHS.
