Two arrested accused of charging up to £4.5k to fake gay asylum claims
Arrests have been made after a Home Office Immigration raid (Getty Images)
Three people have been arrested after a raid on an alleged network accused of selling fake evidence for asylum claims based on pretending to be gay for as much as £4,500.
Two people were arrested at addresses in London on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, and a third person was arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally.
Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers seized phones, jewellery and thousands of pounds in cash during the operation, as reported by BBC News.
Chris Foster, a regional lead for criminal investigations at the Home Office, said the arrests were over separate fake claims connected to Apanjon, a Bangladeshi community LGBT organisation based in Whitechapel, east London.
“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.
He added: “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 more than 100 asylum claims linked to the alleged network are being reviewed by the Home Office, and that some of the fake applications would have “undoubtedly” been granted.
What has Shabana Mahmood said about the arrests?
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said “those faking persecution are beneath contempt and mock real victims who need protection”.
“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.”
The arrests follow a similar incident in May, when another BBC News investigation discovered immigration advisers were allegedly telling asylum seekers to pretend to be gay.
Two were arrested after footage was filmed by the BBC at an LGBT event for asylum seekers, with many there admitting on camera that they were not gay.
If convicted of asylum fraud, the maximum penalty is up to 10 years in prison.
In 2024 a gay Bangladeshi man was refused asylum by the Home Office and told he is ‘not truly gay’.
