Nine guilty over international rugby tickets' fraud

LONDON : Nine people have been found guilty of a 1.8 million pound ($2.35 million) scam involving fake corporate hospitality tickets for international rugby union matches at London's Twickenham Stadium, British police said on Thursday.

The fraud came to light when people who bought tickets for matches between February 2017 and March 2018 from two companies failed to get refunds after being told their order had been cancelled, and found the firms' phone lines no longer existed.

More than 100 reports of fraud were made involving more than 1 million pounds. When police examined the companies' bank accounts, they found those involved had actually made more than 1.8 million pounds.

Nine people have now been convicted of offences including conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering, police said.

"The RFU takes the issue of unauthorised and fraudulent selling very seriously and is doing everything in its power to stop unofficial ticket sales," said Angus Bujalski, Director of Legal and Governance from the Rugby Football Union.

($1 = 0.7655 pounds)

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by William James)