UK Arrests Three, Reviews 100 Asylum Claims Over Network Allegedly Faking Evidence For Gay Asylum Cases
UK Arrests Three, Reviews 100 Asylum Claims Over Network Allegedly Faking Evidence For Gay Asylum Cases
Two people were arrested at separate addresses on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, while a third person was arrested on suspicion of being in the UK illegally.
Three people have been arrested in London over an alleged criminal network accused of helping migrants fabricate evidence to support asylum claims based on claims of being gay.
The arrests were made by Home Office immigration enforcement officers following an investigation into suspected fraudulent asylum applications linked to a Bangladeshi community LGBT organisation, Apanjon, based in Whitechapel, east London.
Two people were arrested at separate addresses on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, while a third person was arrested on suspicion of being in the UK illegally.
Officers also seized mobile phones, jewellery and thousands of pounds in cash during the raids.
Chris Foster, a regional lead for criminal investigations at the Home Office, said the network was suspected of charging migrants between £1,000 and £4,500 for fabricated evidence.
“We’ve got some intelligence that they can provide fake letters and documents, and they could charge anywhere between £1,000 and £4,500,” Foster said.
“It could be letters of support from Apanjon, it could be staged photographs, suggesting that these people are gay, it could be letters from people claiming to be in a friendship or a sexual relationship – [a] same-sex relationship – as the claimants.”
Foster said asylum caseworkers initially identified patterns in suspicious claims, prompting an investigation that had been ongoing for several months.
More than 100 asylum claims linked to the suspected network are now being reviewed by the Home Office. Foster said some of the applications would have “undoubtedly” been granted.
Immigration judges have previously questioned the reliability of evidence linked to Apanjon, including in a case where an applicant claimed to have attended the organisation’s events but was found to have submitted staged photographs.
The Home Office said the organisation often supported men who claimed asylum on the basis of their sexuality after they had initially been refused on political grounds.
In one case, a man reportedly raised his sexuality as a basis for his asylum claim nine years after his original application.
The arrests follow a BBC investigation earlier this year which found that some advisers and community groups were allegedly helping migrants fabricate evidence for asylum claims.
The investigation led to two arrests in May.
In the BBC report, published in April, an adviser, Tanisa Khan, was recorded telling an undercover reporter that she could provide a “comprehensive package”, including photographs taken at gay clubs and other supporting evidence.
She was linked to Worcester LGBT, a community group that she allegedly advised the reporter to attend to strengthen his asylum claim.
The BBC also reported that some men who attended one of the group’s events in Beckton, east London, said they were not gay.
One man reportedly said: “Nobody is a gay here. Not even 1% are gay. Not even 0.01% are gay.”
The investigation also found allegations involving bogus medical conditions and fake news websites being used to support fraudulent asylum claims.
Worcester LGBT has since closed. Its founder previously denied that the group created or supported fabricated evidence, while Khan attributed what happened to a “misunderstanding” caused by communication difficulties and denied advising the reporter to make a false claim or offering to create fabricated evidence.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said those who falsify persecution claims would face consequences.
“To the gangs profiting from this disgraceful fraud: you will be prosecuted, stripped of your dirty money and shut down,” she said.
“And to those cheating the system, your claim will be thrown out, and you will be removed from this country.”
A conviction for asylum fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
