Published : 04 Sep 2026, 02:46 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:47 AM
A Bangladeshi-origin former finance employee of breast cancer charity Breast Cancer Now has been jailed for two and a half years after diverting almost £92,000 meant for the organisation into his own bank account.
He then spent it on personal debts, travel, wedding expenses and luxury purchases.
Tameem Choudhury, 29, was sentenced at the Royal Courts of Justice on Sept 1 after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering offences.
According to the City of London Police, Tameem exploited his position to reroute a £91,966.72 refund that was owed to Breast Cancer Now.
The money was due to the charity from The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in 2023.
On Aug 11 that year, Tameem allegedly used his work email and Breast Cancer Now letterhead to send altered bank details to The Royal Marsden, directing the payment to his personal Santander account.
The refund was subsequently transferred to his account on Aug 16, 2024, police said.
Investigators said Tameem quickly embarked on a lavish spending spree. He used the money to settle personal debts, make cash withdrawals, pay for wedding expenses, buy luxury goods including a £14,000 Alexander Brown ring, and transfer funds to relatives.
Over two days in September 2024, he spent £49,100.47, police said.
The investigation also uncovered messages on Tameem’s phone in which he described himself as “borderline broke” shortly before gaining access to the funds.
After detecting suspicious activity, Santander froze Tameem’s account. Some £42,866.25 remained in the account and was later recovered.
Detective Constable Yusuf Meerza of the City of London Police’s Fraud Operations team said, “Choudhury abused a position of trust within a charity dedicated to funding life-saving breast cancer research.
“The generosity of donors enables charities such as Breast Cancer Now to support vital research and provide help to those affected by breast cancer. Choudhury's actions betrayed that trust and placed charitable funds at risk for his own personal gain.
"This case demonstrates that fraud can be committed from within an organisation by individuals entrusted to safeguard its finances. We will continue to work with victims, financial institutions and partners to identify offenders, recover stolen funds where possible, and bring those responsible before the courts.”
The charity said it had fully cooperated with police and reviewed its internal procedures following the incident.
A spokesperson at Breast Cancer Now said, “Following a thorough police investigation we can confirm that a former staff member has been found guilty of charges relating to fraud and sentenced to two and a half years.
“We take this matter extremely seriously and have fully cooperated with the police at every stage.
“We have conducted a thorough review of internal processes to best mitigate against a situation like this happening again.
“Funds have been recovered and the charity has not experienced any financial loss.”
Tameem was arrested in June 2025 after Breast Cancer Now reported the fraud to police.
