Migrant Worker Fine Scam: Fixer Caught Red-Handed Offering to Wipe £60K in Penalties

In the grim epicentre of UK work visa scams, a Kurdish fixer known as Shaxawan shocked BBC undercover journalists as he pledged to erase £60,000 fines for employing illegal migrants. The sting exposed a network of migrant worker exploitation in mini-marts, many of them selling counterfeit tobacco, according to a BBC report on 5 November 2025.

Thousands of Indian nationals remain stranded by bogus Health and Care Worker Visa schemes, squeezing millions from desperate families. Immigration fraud in 2025 thrives on ghost directors and forged paperwork, fuelling penalties for rogue employers and foreign workers that cripple already vulnerable economies.

Despite a Home Office crackdown on visa fee fraud and migrant debt scams, organised networks continue to brazenly 'confuse' enforcers, undermining public trust and fiscal stability.

The BBC Sting Unmasks the Fixer Network

BBC investigators orchestrated a sting operation, posing as asylum seekers keen to open mini-mart ventures. Shaxawan, real name Kardos Mateen and director of 18 firms across northern England, arrived in a white BMW at a Manchester retail park, boasting of a syndicate spanning multiple cities.

'We are a group. Each of us provides a service and works together,' he explained, outlining setups with bank cards, card machines, and electricity for £400 monthly ghost director fees, plus a £140 one-off banking access charge. He dangled an 'English woman' contact who could allegedly nullify utilities and bailiff action, claiming fines would vanish as she 'makes it zero'.

Trading Standards confirmed illegal cigarettes were sold in Mateen's outlets, where BBC reporters bought fakes. Manchester Dude amplified the scandal on X: 'Crime fixer caught by BBC offering to erase £60K fines on migrant workers... help migrants - including asylum seekers - to set up businesses illegally,' posted on 5 November 2025.

Bryar Mohammed Zada, a proposed ghost director, was linked to 20 car washes and mini-marts, four of which sold illicit tobacco, according to Companies House and BBC checks. This exposé spotlights how such rings embed themselves in High Streets, evading scrutiny.

Mechanics of the Fine-Evasion Racket

Shaxawan's ploy hinged on reassigning £60,000 Immigration Enforcement penalties—£45,000 for first offences, £60,000 repeats—to paid proxies, often nearby Hungarians, charging £2,000-£3,000 per person.

At RKS Solicitors in Huddersfield, who denied any awareness, he hosted a second meeting, claiming the tactic confuses overworked officials within four weeks. The company would then be dissolved and reformed under a fresh identity for £4,600 per worker.

Paralegal Zohaib Hussain, who was supervised but later suspended after the BBC's revelations, quizzed the undercover journalist: 'How many illegal workers? So how much is the fine?' before chuckling over vapes and offering £3,500 to craft 'business agreements' as precautions, calling name-swaps a 'last resort'.

Immigration lawyer Bryony Rest condemned the practice as 'clearly offering to falsify documents', likely constituting fraud and immigration offences. Hussain denied any ties to Shaxawan, who rejected all claims. RKS has since notified the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The carousel of shell companies and proxies mirrors the visa scams that leave migrants trapped in legal limbo.

Broader Impacts and Home Office Reprisal

Migrant debt scams are wreaking havoc: UK fraudsters laundered millions from care worker aspirants in 2025, devastating source nations while victims are crammed into overcrowded homes on sub-minimum wages. One Liverpool eatery was fined £180,000 for six undocumented workers, highlighting the employer perils under escalated civil penalties.

Bloomberg tracked how squeezed remittances are fuelling black markets, as loan sharks prey on overstayers amid visa restrictions that slashed 98,000 issuances. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood vowed action: 'Illegal working and linked organised criminality creates an incentive for people to come here illegally. We will not stand for it,' signalling the largest crackdown to date. Digital IDs will become mandatory, and dodgy bosses could face up to five years in jail.

Yet watchdog group Free Movement warns consultations risk overreach, urging balanced reforms without speculative enforcement. Fiscal drains continue to mount, and migration's net benefit—according to the Migration Observatory—is threatened by unchecked visa fee fraud. Reforms demand vigilance to shield genuine workers.