Three arrested as UK reviews asylum claims over suspected fabricated evidence

Three people were arrested at London addresses on 6 October during an investigation into alleged fabricated evidence for asylum claims based on sexual orientation, the BBC reported. Two were arrested on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences; a third was arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally. Officers seized phones, jewellery and thousands of pounds in cash. The Home Office is reviewing more than 100 claims linked to the suspected network. That is the number under review, not a count of fraudulent claims. [1]

Chris Foster, a regional lead for criminal investigations at the Home Office, linked the suspected false claims to Apanjon, a Bangladeshi LGBT community organisation in Whitechapel. He told the BBC investigators had intelligence that fake letters and staged photographs could be supplied for between £1,000 and £4,500. Foster said some applications he described as fake would “undoubtedly” have been granted. [1]

The BBC also reported that judges had previously criticised evidence from Apanjon as unreliable or not credible, and had found staged photographs in one applicant’s case. Those earlier findings are distinct from the allegations being investigated in October. [1]