Living in a tough neighbourhood in south London meant that Sam and Steve Williams were always in trouble.  They were among the many victims of gang violence in their home in Brockley.

Fortunately, the identical twins, now 39, were able to rise above the gang culture to create Populous PPT, a cryptocurrency currently valued at about $130 million and ranked 52 out of 2000 most valuable cryptocurrency in the world.

The platform works by discounting invoices, thus enabling small and medium-sized businesses with cash flow problems to raise funds against invoices from the crypto community.

Photo: Cavendish

The tough neighbourhood was not their only challenge. Twelve years ago, Steve fell into the wrong crowdand ended up serving time for obtaining money through fraud.

“It was a major wake-up call and I had plenty of time to think about what I was going to do with my life. I made a big mistake and I paid for it. I knew I had to turn my life around and work hard to achieve a good life for me and my family. I also want to give back by helping youths on the streets and those involved in street crime and I hope to inspire and create positive opportunities for them,’ he said.

The sons of Nigerian parents who migrated to the UK in the 1970s worked diligently in their kitchen for four years. They lived with their mother, a chef, their father, an accountant and their sister.  Apparently, the house was too small that Sam had to sleep on the couch.

They both attended Crofton Comprehensive School in Lewisham, where Sam studied  Advanced Business and Steve learnt computer programming. After school, they tried their hand at different businesses including a magazine called Tramp and researching financial markets before they settled on cryptocurrency.

Photo: Cavendish

The Populous token went on the market in June 2017, with the twins hoping that they would raise a few thousand pounds. They were surprised that within 24 hours, they had amassed assets worth £1.85 million in Ethereum digital currency.

“The success Populous has exceeded all expectations – we thought it would do well but this has been phenomenal. We had been involved on the fringes of gangs as teenagers when we were growing up in South London – but it’s fair to say that our lifestyles have changed completely in the past year,” Sam said.

Thanks to their success, Sam and Steve now live in exclusive neighbourhoods of Knightsbridge and Essex respectively. They also rub shoulders with world-renowned celebrities such as 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather.

Two men and a teenager have been jailed today, Tuesday, 11 September at Wood Green Crown Court for a total of more than 30 years for carrying out 19 knife and acid attack robberies in north and east London.

The horrific attacks targeted taxi drivers and people selling items via Gumtree. The group used strong acids, alkalis, and knives, to rob and maim their victims, some of whom will never recover from their injuries.

Miracle Osondu, 19, of Constance Street, E16 was sentenced to 11 years, extended to 15, in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to rob comprising 19 counts of robbery as well as a planned robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article. A separate charge of theft from 2017 will remain on file. Osondu will serve a minimum of seven years and four months in prison.

Antoine Mensah, 21, of Commerce Road, N22 was sentenced to 13 years, extended to 17 years, in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to rob comprising 19 counts of robbery as well as a planned robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article. Mensah also pleaded guilty to six counts of assault in an unrelated case. Mensah will serve a minimum of 8 years and 8 months in prison.

Reporting restrictions were lifted on the teenager involved at the instruction of the judge. He is Mohammed Ali, 17 of Ilford and was sentenced to eight years, extended to 12 years, in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to rob comprising 19 counts of robbery as well as a planned robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article. Ali will serve a minimum of five years and four months in prison.

The court heard that between 26 April and 14 May 2018, the trio embarked on a series of robberies that involved robbing mini-cab drivers at knifepoint and using strong chemicals to rob people they had arranged to buy and sell mobile phones from the Gumtree website.

The first offence they committed occurred on 26 April, where the three took a taxi to a street in Enfield where they robbed their taxi driver, threatening to stab him.

This quickly escalated to physically restraining taxi drivers and on two occasions producing a knife with which they threatened the drivers. Following this, they moved on to targeting unsuspecting victims from Gumtree.

In one incident on 11 May, the trio arranged to meet their victim, a 40-year-old male, in High Road, Barnet N12, pretending that they were going to buy a phone from him. There Mensah (pictured above) and Osondu sprayed ammonia in the victim’s face, tackling him to the ground and stole his phone. The victim was left with serious eye injuries with irritation, burning and permanent impact on his vision. The psychological impact on the victim has been considerable and ongoing.

In another, on 12 May, the trio arranged to meet a different victim, a 49-year-old male, in Meadow Close, Barking IG11, on this occasion pretending that they were going to sell a phone to him. There they sprayed acid in the face of the victim before stealing cash and the contents of his wallet from him, then returned and sprayed him again before making off. The victim has sustained life-changing injuries, losing the majority of the vision in one eye, causing him to have to leave his previous employment.

On 14 May Enfield Proactive Unit officers, using a wide range of policing tactics, tracked the suspects to a taxi travelling from Enfield to Ilford en-route to commit another robbery. The trio were stopped in Mortlake Road, IG1 with the assistance of armed officers.

Mensah, Osondu and the 17-year-old were stopped in the taxi and were found in possession of a bottle of PH1 acid, a 22cm long knife, nearly £2,000 in cash, balaclavas and multiple phones.

They were taken into custody where they gave no comment interviews. All three were charged on 17 May.

In a Victim Personal Statement, one of the victims who suffered life-changing injuries said:

"The initial injuries were that my skin was burnt all over, even in my mouth and on my tongue. The whole thing was just so excessive. Even after I gave them what was in my pockets, they kept pouring acid over me, just because they could.

"When I looked in the mirror and saw my injuries for the first time, I felt like I had become a zombie in just two hours. They could have taken my money or physical possessions if they had just threatened me, I wouldn’t have fought back because they’re just possessions. Even when they threw acid over me, I still didn’t fight back and just tried to shield my face from them. It was horrid trying to wash my face and feeling the acid all over me and it was so hard to clean it off and so painful. My right eye went entirely white, which was horrible to see. Friends came to visit me and I didn’t want them to see me because I knew it would upset them.

"Socially, my life has been really impacted. I used to be an outgoing, bubbly person. I enjoyed running, cycling and other activities, and anything that relied on my eyesight has been robbed from me. My mood from day to day hinges almost entirely on my vision and my medical condition. I feel happier when it improves, but that rarely lasts, and when it hasn’t improved or is worse, I feel worse too. Even things that don’t rely on my eyesight I have been less willing to do. I used to never be at home and would always be out socialising, but now I’m always at home, I feel tired and sleep a lot. I used to be a really trusting person, but since what happened I have lost so much confidence in other people.”

Investigating officer Detective Constable James Rush, from Enfield Major Crime Unit, said:

“These males appeared to feel no guilt over their actions, using strong acids, alkalis, and knives, to rob and maim their victims without a second thought for the impact the injuries they inflicted would have.
“Over the course of their offending they carried out 19 robberies, leaving victims with life-changing injuries. They also conspired to rob many more.
“They are dangerous individuals and these lengthy prison sentences are the only way to ensure the public are kept safe.
“Their behaviour is truly shocking. I commend the bravery of all the victims and witnesses who provided the evidence to help secure these convictions.
“I would also commend the efforts and teamwork of the many officers across multiple units whose work contributed to this excellent result.”

e United Kingdom has returned the sum of £70 million recovered from a Nigerian who was convicted of fraud in an Italian court.

British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Paul Arkwright, revealed this while addressing reporters in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

He said, “There was an Italian court case with a particular person involved. A portion the fund has been in the UK and that was the portion that was returned recently from the UK to Nigeria. So, it’s in that context that the 70 million (pounds) was returned.”

Mr Arkwright, however, refused to disclose the identity of the Nigerian involved in the offence.

He said more funds would be repatriated, stressing that his country was working with the Nigerian government to accelerate the legal process of returning the looted money.

“The British government has no intention of keeping one kobo of Nigerian funds in the UK,” said the diplomat. “It all must come back to Nigeria.”

He added, “Just as in Nigeria, the UK feels that the judicial process is important, and we have to go through those processes before the money can be returned.”

Arkwright also confirmed that British Prime Minister Theresa May will visit Nigeria as part of her visit to Africa.

May is expected in Nigeria on Wednesday.