News

Man in British ATM scam says he was threatened by gangsters

February 29, 2004

GLASGOW, Scotland - After admitting his part in an ATM scam which netted £30,000 (U.S. $55,975), Bogdan Tanasa alleged he was forced to participate by Romanian gangsters.

Tanasa, 29, had used a false passport to stay in Britain after losing his job at a textiles plant in Essex. According to a BBC report, a court in Glasgow heard allegations that the criminals who supplied the passport used threats against his family in Romania to make him take part in the fraud.

Glasgow Sheriff Court was told that police had been on alert last December following reports that cash had been mysteriously disappearing from cardholders' bank accounts. It was believed that a gang was using skimming devices and cameras to obtain card information and PINs.

Tanasa was arrested by police who had been watching an ATM in Glasgow. He later admitted installing skimmers on ATMs on at least 10 occasions during a three-week period.

He appeared on petition at Glasgow Sheriff Court under the name Giovanni Altore, his identity on the false passport. But further investigations revealed that he was Bogdan Tanasa from the Romanian capital of Bucharest.

The court was told that Tanasa travelled to Glasgow from Essex with five other men to carry out the crimes, and was paid £10,000 (U.S. $18,660) in return.

He is due to reappear in court for sentencing this month, according to the BBC.