Lawyer caught offering to make illegal-worker fine go away
Solicitor accused of suggesting a way to sidestep illegal-working penalty
Ninoda.com – A Bradford solicitor has been accused of outlining a plan that could allow a business to avoid a £45,000 penalty for employing a worker without the legal right to work in the UK.
Mohammad Alias Yousaf, who is also known as Alias, was recorded speaking to an undercover reporter posing as the owner of a mini-mart facing an immigration enforcement fine. The business, employee and penalty described in the conversation were fictional.
Yousaf denied giving this type of advice to clients or submitting false details to the Home Office.
Proposal involved an overseas “owner”
During the recorded call, Yousaf was told that immigration officers had identified an illegal worker at the supposed shop. He said his fee would be 10% of the penalty, amounting to £4,500 in the example, and that he would require payment in advance.
He then discussed moving responsibility for the penalty to a person outside the UK by identifying that individual as the business owner.
“Do you have anybody’s name who we can use? Anybody who’s gone back to Iraq, gone back to Iran?”
He used an imaginary person named Karwan to illustrate the idea.
“Say we put forward Karwan, yeah? Then fine come on Karwan’s name. Karwan not here, Karwan in Iraq.”
The approach appeared to involve what is commonly described as a “ghost director” — a person paid to appear on official paperwork while concealing the person who actually controls a business. A law-enforcement official said the use of ghost directors is a widespread unlawful practice.
The undercover reporter also said that people had been paid to place their names on the mini-mart’s lease and utility accounts in order to hide its true owners. Yousaf appeared positive about that detail.
“OK, fine. Then I think we should be able to find a way out of this.”
Concern over unpaid immigration penalties
The case has drawn attention to the large value of illegal-working penalties that remain unpaid. Home Office figures show that 5,755 fines were issued between 2021 and 2025, with a combined value of £215m. Of that total, £60.5m has been collected, leaving at least £150m outstanding.
Employers can face civil penalties when they hire people who do not have permission to work in the UK. In 2024, the maximum fine for knowingly employing an illegal worker increased from £15,000 to £60,000.
For responsible businesses, the system is intended to encourage checks before employment begins. Employers are expected to establish that workers have a right to work and to keep appropriate evidence. The scale of unpaid penalties, however, raises questions about whether fines are consistently treated as an effective deterrent.
An anonymous law-enforcement official said some business owners appeared dismissive of enforcement action. She recalled seeing notices, including penalties worth £40,000, placed in a box on a mini-mart counter. When she asked whether the owners planned to pay, she said a member of staff replied:
“It’s got nothing to do with me.”
Social-media promotion brought solicitor to attention
Yousaf’s name emerged during a broader examination of illegal working and criminality linked to some High Street businesses, including mini-marts and barbershops. Videos circulated on social media, including Kurdish-language Facebook pages, promoted his contact details and claimed he could resolve immigration-fine problems.
Some of the posts had been viewed more than 20,000 times. In one video, a Kurdish-speaking shopkeeper said he had unsuccessfully approached several places after receiving a penalty for hiring an illegal worker. The man then said that “Mr Alias” had secured cancellation of the fine and displayed a letter as evidence.
Yousaf said he had not commissioned, funded, approved or distributed the promotional videos.
Bryony Rest, a senior immigration lawyer who reviewed the recorded call, described the apparent suggestion of putting forward a false business owner as “quite appalling” if made by a solicitor.
Government review announced
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a review into how illegal-working penalties are imposed and recovered. She thanked those who exposed people undermining immigration rules.
The review will place renewed focus on the gap between penalties issued and money recovered. Fines can only influence employer behaviour if they are enforced effectively, while any attempt to disguise a company’s genuine ownership could make investigations and recovery more difficult.
Yousaf continues to deny ever advising anyone to provide false information to the Home Office. The allegations underline the importance of transparent business records and lawful right-to-work procedures, particularly for smaller businesses where ownership, leases and staffing arrangements may be closely connected.
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