Jail for Briton who sold fake bomb detectors to Iraq
10-year sentence for businessman blamed for deaths of Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad blasts
A fraudster who sold more than £55 million (HK$664 million) worth of fake bomb detectors to Iraq and other security hot spots has been jailed for 10 years at the Old Bailey court in London.
Jim McCormick, 57, was found guilty of three counts of fraud over the sale of bogus explosive and drug detection devices for as much as £10,000 each, when they were based on £15 novelty golf ball finders.
Justice Hone handed down the maximum sentence for a crime he described as "a callous confidence trick". He said the case was the most serious of its kind that he has known.
After the verdict, Iraqi exiles called for compensation from at least £7 million in assets that are expected to be confiscated from the British businessman.
"He destroyed Iraqi lives," said Nidhal Ailshbib, an Iraqi activist protesting outside the court. "Thousands of Iraqi people are dead and handicapped."
Detectives called for groups or individuals to come forward if they believe they have been victims of explosions that could have been prevented if the bogus bomb detectors worked.