A Bradford solicitor has been caught offering to wipe out a £45,000 illegal-working fine by shifting liability to an overseas ghost director, triggering an urgent Home Office review.
A Bradford solicitor was secretly recorded outlining a scheme to clear a £45,000 penalty for employing an illegal worker by transferring the business liability to an individual based in Iraq or Iran.
Mohammad Alias Yousaf, who also goes by Alias, gave the advice to an undercover investigator posing as a mini-mart proprietor facing enforcement action.
The legal professional explained that the £45,000 fine could be avoided if someone living overseas was listed as the true owner of the business.
In exchange for his services, Alias demanded an upfront fee equal to 10 per cent of the penalty, which totaled £4,500.
Ghost director scheme pitched for upfront cash
Alias suggested placing the financial burden on an individual who had returned to Iraq or Iran.
He offered an example during the secretly taped phone call, suggesting a fictitious person named Karwan could take the blame. Since Karwan would be in Iraq rather than the UK, the penalty would simply go unpaid.
This technique relies on using a ghost director, where someone is paid to put their name on legal records to mask the real owner.
An anonymous law enforcement official described the use of ghost directors as a widespread illegal tactic used to evade legal accountability.
Unpaid penalties hit £150m across the UK
Official Home Office statistics show that the government is currently owed at least £150 million in outstanding illegal-working fines.
Between 2021 and 2025, authorities issued 5,755 penalties valued at £215 million, but only £60.5 million has actually been recovered.
The maximum penalty for knowingly employing illegal workers was raised from £15,000 to £60,000 in 2024.
The Home Office stated that collections are lower than issued totals due to ongoing appeals, fast-payment discounts, and the fact that older fines are still being processed.
According to a law enforcement official, many business owners treat the fines with total disregard. She recalled finding penalty notices worth £40,000 left stuffed inside a counter box at a mini-mart.
Secret camera captures cash exchange in Bradford
Alias came under scrutiny after social media posts, including videos on Kurdish Facebook pages with over 20,000 views, featured shopkeepers thanking him for solving immigration fine disputes.
One Kurdish shopkeeper displayed a letter on camera, claiming Mr Alias successfully canceled a penalty after several other avenues failed.
During an undercover visit to his Bradford office, an investigator provided Alias with a £250 cash deposit. Alias counted the banknotes without giving a receipt.
The investigator then arranged a telephone conversation between Alias and a staged contact in Iraq named Saman, who was actually another covert journalist.
When Saman admitted over the phone that he had never seen the mini-mart and was not its owner, Alias replied that he could only proceed if Saman explicitly claimed ownership.
They might say, ‘OK, you have to pay this money.’ We don’t pay the money. That’s the end of it. Case finished.
Mohammad Alias Yousaf, solicitor
Perverting justice charge leveled by legal expert
Senior immigration lawyer Bryony Rest reviewed the covert recordings and stated that the solicitor’s actions amounted to perverting the course of justice. She argued that Alias should be struck off from practicing law.
Rest pointed out that while Alias later claimed he could not advance an untruthful story after suspecting something was wrong, he was the one who initially proposed the dishonest tactic.
Alias subsequently sent text messages withdrawing his offer to represent the fake business owner and promised to refund the £250 cash deposit.
That money has not been returned, though Alias maintains his firm, Liberty Solicitors, made multiple attempts to return the cash.
Home Secretary orders review following exposure
In response to the findings, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced an urgent review into how illegal-working fines are issued and collected.
She thanked those who uncovered the behavior for exposing people who undermine official rules.
Mahmood declared that the review would aim
“to ensure we are able to respond to non-compliance and non-payment through all available means”
Alias denied ever advising anyone to place penalties in the names of non-responsible individuals or providing false details to the Home Office.
He stated that he had never commissioned, paid for, or approved any social media videos bearing his name.
Regarding his work, Alias said
“My work is to challenge penalties lawfully, through the routes Parliament has provided, usually on the basis that the person found was not an employee at all”
He added that he told the undercover investigator in writing that he could not advance a dishonest claim and declined to act on his behalf.