A Barclays Bank insider who helped cyber-criminals launder hundreds of thousands of pounds stolen using a Trojan horse computer virus is facing jail.
Jinal Pethad, 29, opened more than half of the 199 sham accounts used to handle money plundered from a series of UK companies over a two year period.
One victim, the medical firm Galen Research, lost more than half a million pounds after one of its employees clicked on a Word document attached to an email in May 2015.
The file contained the Dridex malware which allowed hackers to steal login information for the company's bank account and make 42 separate bank transfers.
Two Moldovan men who operated the sham bank accounts used to launder the cash, Ion Turcan, 36, and Pavel Gincota, 33, have already been jailed after admitting their role in the conspiracy.
They used the cash to fund lavish lifetyles, according to the National Crime Agency's National Cyber Crime Unit.
Pethad, a business support worker who was known as a 'go to' man to solve problems at Barclays, changed his plea and admitted his role after the case was opened at the Old Bailey today.
He will be sentenced tomorrow morning.
Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly told jurors that Pethad was "essential to the money laundering enterprise".
She said: "He was an inside man who could assist with setting up the accounts and also using his role to avert any suspicion that might be put on to these accounts.
"In the event that an alarm is received by anybody in the bank, he could step in to either smooth over those concerns but also to permit laundering of funds to continue."
Pethad opened 105 of the 199 sham accounts identified as being part of the conspiracy.
Thirty nine of those received money from frauds on four companies including Galen Research and the not-for-profit CW Group.
Pethad also occasionally changed the details of 143 of the 199 accounts.
Miss Farrelly said: "There is a picture of this defendant being heavily involved in setting up and accessing false bank accounts."
Turcan and Gincota were arrested in a car in Heston Community Centre car park on 1 February this year.
When their flat in West Drayton was searched, police found a series of identity documents in different names as well as a Romanian passport and a Moldovan ID card in Turcan's name and a Moldovan driving licence in Gincota's name.
Officers also found a computer which had been used to access all 199 sham accounts.
Text messages on Turcan's phone revealed several messages about the money laundering between June 2015 and January 2016.
In one chat Turcan received a message from another launderer: "Nice and clean, we sucked everything."
Turcan replied: "Good job :)"
Pethad, of Whistler Gardens, Edgware, admitted conspiracy to possess false identity documents and conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property between 1 February 2014 and 2 February 2016.
Turcan and Gincota, both of Trout Road, West Drayton, admitted the same charge and in October last year Turcan was jailed for seven years and Gincota was jailed for five years and eight months.
Following their sentencing, Steve Brown, Senior Investigating Officer at the NCA National Cyber Crime Unit said: "Pavel Gincota and Ion Turcan were serial money launderers who processed millions of pounds worth of stolen money through hundreds of bank accounts to fund their lifestyles.
"Those involved in the most serious types of organised crime depend on the services provided by money launderers like Gincota and Turcan to hide their criminal profits.
"The NCA will continue to work closely with our partners to prevent organised criminals from accessing the proceeds of their crimes and to bring them to justice."
