A British-Bangladeshi charity worker has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison after stealing nearly £92,000 from Breast Cancer Now to finance his wedding and honeymoon.
Tameem Choudhury, 29, exploited his position in the charity’s finance team to divert a payment intended for the organisation into his own bank account, according to the City of London Police, reports The Telegraph.
Tameem Choudhury, from Hackney in east London, was jailed at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering.
The offence took place in August 2023, when Tameem Choudhury intercepted a refund of £91,966.72 that The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust was due to pay to Breast Cancer Now.
Police said Tameem Choudhury used his work email account to send the trust details of his personal bank account, accompanied by documentation bearing the charity’s official headed paper.
The money was transferred to his account, and within weeks Tameem had spent much of it on personal expenses.
According to investigators, the stolen funds were used to cover wedding and honeymoon costs, purchase luxury items and repay personal debts. Among the items he bought was a £14,000 Alexander Brown ring.
He also withdrew cash, bought plane tickets to Qatar, transferred money to relatives and made payments to debt collection agencies, police said.
Messages recovered from Tameem Choudhury’s phone showed that he had described himself as “borderline broke” shortly before carrying out the offences.
Detective Constable Yusuf Meerza, of the City of London Police’s fraud operations team, said Tameem had abused the trust placed in him through his role at the charity.
“The generosity of donors enables charities such as Breast Cancer Now to support vital research and provide help to those affected by breast cancer,” she said.
“Tameem Choudhury’s actions betrayed that trust and placed charitable funds at risk for his own personal gain.”
The investigation began after Breast Cancer Now reported the matter to police. Tameem Choudhury was arrested in June last year.
His bank subsequently froze his account after detecting suspicious activity, resulting in £42,866 being recovered.
Charity says it suffered no financial loss
Breast Cancer Now said it had taken the incident “extremely seriously” and carried out a “thorough review” of its procedures following the theft.
A spokesperson for the charity said people affected by breast cancer remained at the centre of its work and stressed its commitment to ensuring donated money was used for its intended purpose.
“Through life-saving research, life-changing support and change-making campaigns, we’re changing the future of breast cancer, and we’re committed to upholding the highest standards to ensure all funds so generously donated to the charity help those affected by this devastating disease, as intended,” the spokesperson said.
The charity confirmed that the stolen funds had been recovered and said it had suffered no financial loss.
Breast Cancer Now, launched in 2015, funds research into breast cancer and provides support to people affected by the disease. Its services include access to specialist nurses, support groups, assistance and information resources.
The charity’s royal patron is King Charles III, while its high-profile supporters include broadcasters Lisa Snowdon and Julia Bradbury.
