BBC Filming Shows Solicitor Offering to Void £45,000 Fine as UK Reviews £150 Million in Unpaid Penalties
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 21
BBC Filming Shows Solicitor Offering to Void £45,000 Fine as UK Reviews £150 Million in Unpaid Penalties
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 21
Summary
Secret recordings show Bradford solicitor Mohammad Alias Yousaf telling an undercover BBC reporter he could make a £45,000 illegal-worker fine “go away” by shifting liability to someone overseas and charging 10%—£4,500—up front.
The proposed route relied on naming a person in Iraq or Iran as the mini-mart’s owner, a tactic resembling use of a “ghost director” to mask the real owner and leave authorities chasing someone outside the UK.
Alias later appeared to retreat, saying he could not pursue an “untruthful or dishonest” claim and promising to return a £250 payment; he denies ever advising false information be given to the Home Office.
The BBC says Home Office figures show 5,755 illegal-working fines worth £215 million were issued between 2021 and 2025, but only £60.5 million has been collected, leaving at least £150 million outstanding.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered a review of how the fines are issued and collected after the investigation, while an immigration lawyer said the conduct shown could amount to perverting the course of justice.