Lawyer caught offering to make illegal-worker fine go away
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Ed Thomas, UK editor, Rebecca Wearn and Patrick Clahane
A solicitor has been secretly filmed by the BBC explaining how he could make a £45,000 illegal-working fine go away.
Mohammad Alias Yousaf - also known as Alias - made the claim to an undercover reporter, who was posing as a mini-mart owner facing a fine for employing an illegal worker.
Alias told his potential client he could avoid paying the fine, if he could find someone overseas prepared to declare themselves the owner of the mini-mart.
Alias has denied ever providing such advice to anyone, or giving false information to the Home Office. At least £150m is currently owed to the government in uncollected illegal-working fines, according to Home Office figures obtained by the BBC.
In response to our investigation, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a review of the way such fines are issued and collected.
She said she wanted to thank the BBC "for exposing those who undermine our rules".
Related
Many business owners do not take the fines seriously, a law enforcement official has told us anonymously. She described seeing immigration fine notices, "some worth £40,000, stuffed in a box" on a mini-mart counter.
When she asked a member of staff if the business owners intended to pay, she said the response was: "'It's got nothing to do with me.'"
Social Media Videos
A number of social media videos advertised Alias's details, with his phone number blurred out. His name and that of his law firm, Liberty Solicitors, were mentioned in Kurdish Facebook pages, where business owners in the UK praised his ability to resolve problems linked to immigration fines.
In one video, a Kurdish-speaking shop owner explained that, after being issued with a penalty for employing an illegal worker, he had "tried two or three different places to get it sorted but nobody could resolve it". He went on to say that "Mr Alias had got the fine cancelled - showing a letter as evidence."
Alias told the BBC he had not commissioned, paid for, approved or circulated videos on social media.