UK charity worker diverted £92,000 and spent £14,000 on a wedding ring

NewsWorld NewsUK NewsA charity finance employee redirected a £91,966 payment meant for a breast cancer organisation into his own account and spent £14,000 on a ring for his wedding A charity finance employee redirected a £91,966 payment meant for a breast cancer organisation into his own account and spent £14,000 on a ring for his wedding A former charity finance employee in the UK has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison after diverting a £91,966 payment intended for a breast cancer organisation into his personal bank account.

Tameem Choudhury, 29, formerly employed by Breast Cancer Now, redirected the money by sending altered banking details to The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, which was due to refund the charity. He later spent the money on personal debts, wedding and honeymoon expenses, luxury purchases and travel, including buying a £14,000 Alexander Brown ring.

Choudhury was sentenced at the Royal Courts of Justice on September 1, 2026, after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering offences. The charity confirmed that the funds were recovered and it suffered no financial loss.How the £91,966 payment was diverted According to the City of London Police, Breast Cancer Now was due to receive a refund of £91,966.72 from The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in 2023.

On August 11, 2023, Choudhury used his work email account to send altered bank details to the trust on letterhead bearing the charity's name. The account details provided belonged to him. The payment was transferred into his personal Santander account on August 16, 2024.

The police report identifies the original instruction in 2023 and the eventual transfer in 2024.He spent £14,000 on a ring and funded wedding expenses Investigators found that Choudhury used the money for a range of personal expenses, including paying off debts, making cash withdrawals, buying luxury items, paying for travel and transferring money to relatives.One of the purchases was an Alexander Brown ring worth £14,000.

He also used the funds for wedding and honeymoon expenses, while airline tickets linked to travel to Qatar were among the spending identified during the investigation.Over just two days in September 2024, Choudhury spent £49,100.47 of the money, police said.Messages showed he was struggling with debt The investigation uncovered evidence that Choudhury had been heavily in debt before receiving the payment.

Messages recovered from his mobile phone showed him describing himself as “borderline broke” shortly before accessing the funds.Investigators traced spending to debt collection agencies, luxury retailers, travel expenses and transfers to family members.

The findings formed part of the case against him for fraud and money laundering.How the fraud was uncovered After suspicious activity was detected, Santander froze and subsequently closed Choudhury's account. At the time it was frozen, £42,866.25 remained in the account and was later recovered.Breast Cancer Now reported the matter to police, prompting an investigation by the City of London Police.

Choudhury was arrested in June 2025. He later pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering offences and was sentenced on September 1, 2026, to two years and six months in prison at the Royal Courts of Justice.Breast Cancer Now says funds were recovered Breast Cancer Now said it had fully co-operated with the police investigation and reviewed its internal processes to reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring again.The charity also confirmed that the money had been recovered and that it had not suffered any financial loss.

It said its work supporting people affected by breast cancer and funding research remained central to its mission. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test. At TOI World Desk, our dedicated team of seasoned journalists and passionate writers tirelessly sifts through the vast tapestry of global events to bring you the latest news and diverse perspectives round the clock.

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