Former Havering Council Market Manager Admits £208,700 Fraud Involving Taxpayers’ Money

A former Assistant Market Manager at the London Borough of Havering has pleaded guilty to fraud after admitting dishonestly abusing his position to make more than £208,000 in refund payments to himself.

Akinremi Akintokunbo entered a guilty plea to an offence under the Fraud Act 2006 at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 30 June 2026.

The court heard that between 2 March 2024 and 5 December 2024, Akintokunbo abused his position as an Assistant Market Manager at the London Borough of Havering by carrying out 133 individual refund transactions to himself using a London Borough of Havering chip and pin device.

The fraudulent transactions totalled £208,700, resulting in a significant loss of public money.

Following his guilty plea, the case has been committed to Snaresbrook Crown Court for sentencing. The Crown Court will also consider proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to determine whether any assets can be recovered.

A pre-sentence report has been ordered to assist the court before sentence is passed. No sentencing date has yet been fixed and Akintokunbo was granted unconditional bail.

Councillor Sue Benjamins, Deputy Leader of Havering Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, said:

“I want to thank all those involved in this case. It beggars’ belief that anyone can think they can get away with something like this. Particularly in this case that involved such a large sum of taxpayers’ money.

“It was down to the diligence of our finance team that this crime was spotted and he was quickly dismissed while the investigation took place.

“We have a zero tolerance policy and we will deploy all necessary resources to protect the Council and public funds from those who would seek to do harm or abuse their positions.”

The case will now proceed to Snaresbrook Crown Court, where a judge will decide the appropriate sentence. As sentencing has not yet taken place, reporting should avoid speculation about the outcome or any potential penalty.

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