Crime fixer caught by BBC offering to erase £60k fines on migrant workers

A man at the center of a massive criminal network has been secretly filming BBC undercover reporters how he can help to remove fines from up to £60,000 for employing illegal employees. The self-described accountant is one of a group of Kurdish men who were first revealed in a BBC probe on Tuesday that allow migrants to work illegally in mini-marts by registering the firms in their own name. According to the two journalists, the man, who goes by the name of Shaxawan, might be able to assist migrants, including asylum seekers, in setting up businesses unlawfully and confuse immigration enforcement. He worked from a solicitor's office in Huddersfield and said he had "customers in every town. Shaxawan is listed as Kardos Mateen, a British resident in his 30s, and has been the director of 18 companies throughout the north of England, according to Companies House.

When confronted later by us with the particulars of his allegations, he denied any wrongdoing. Trading Standards announced that illicit cigarettes were being sold in many companies registered under the name Kardos Mateen, and that the BBC was selling counterfeit cigarettes in four mini-marts where it was identified as the director. The BBC News two-part investigation has shown the breadth and breadth of criminal networks benefiting from undocumented working on UK High Streets. The government has confirmed that loose control of Britain's labour market is serving as a pull factor for those entering the country unlawfully.

Shaxawan made several claims to our reporters:

In addition, our reporters interviewed a paralegal, who was with Shaxawan on hand, who promised to make papers and business deals to prevent fines.

'I'll make sure you have no issues'

The first meeting with Shaxawan took months. In the belief of meeting an asylum seeker who was planning to run a mini-mart and sell illegal cigarettes, he pulled up at a packed Manchester retail park in a white 4x4 BMW. In fact, he was meeting Saman (not his real name), a Kurdish journalist who was working undercover for the BBC. Shaxawan opened a cafe with a smile:

We are a family. Each of us provides a service and collaborates together,

he said. He outlined how he worked with an

English woman who dealt with electricity, oil, and bailiffs.

She makes it zero

when Immigration Enforcement issues a fine, he said.

I will. Set up your business, [card] machine, get you electricity, and talk to your landlord,Shaxawan promised.I'll make sure you have no issues.

He told Saman that he should register a mini-mart company in the name of someone else - what is often described as a

ghost director. According to him, this would cost £400 per month, and getting a business bank card would require a one-time payment of £140. According to the ghost director, if the store was raided by law enforcement and fines were imposed, the one who would take the risk would be the one to take responsibility.That's why you're paying,

he said. Shaxawan called someone who might be able to act as a ghost director to demonstrate that he was sincere and to give reassurance. On the phone, Saman explained that he did not have asylum status and did not even have asylum rights.

Don't worrycame the reply.As Mr Shaxawan says, bring the money at the end of the month. The prospective ghost director, who was 28 years old from Iran named Bryar Mohammed Zada, was revealed by ID documents sent by phone shortly after his meeting with Shaxawan. According to Companies House records, Mr Zada has racked up company directorships for 20 car washes and mini-marts from Newcastle upon Tyne to Essex in the last 12 months. At four of Mr Zada's shops, undercover journalists discovered illicit cigarettes being sold. Mr Zada did not respond to the BBC's questions. Shaxawan called Shaxowan for a second meeting, and Shaxhawan suggested that they visit RKS Solicitors in Huddersfield later this week. The firm is affiliated with the Law Society and has Dewsbury and Sheffield branches. The meeting was held on the basis that Saman needed assistance with an unlawful working fine that had been given to a family friend. On the company's website, there is no mention of the names Shaxawan or "Mateen. But Saman had called Shaxawan when he was outside the solicitors, and Shaxowan opened the front door and welcomed him in. He led our reporter upstairs to an office, where he explained how Saman's family member could avoid the fine by giving company information to someone else for a fee. RKS Solicitors told the BBC that it had no connection to any suspected immigration or fine-related misconduct.

Fines turned to 'zero'

Ali, a Kurdish reporter, later became the subject of an investigation by calling the same RKS Solicitors branch, but not mentioning Shaxawan. He told the woman who answered the phone that Immigration Enforcement had paid the woman he had been fined £60,000 for employing two people without the ability to work. He was given an appointment with Zohaib Hussain, a RKS's website as a lawyer who can provide legal assistance but is not a qualified solicitor and woRKS under surveillance. Ali was arriving in Shaxawan as he was waiting for his appointment with Mr Hussain at the RKS offices. Shaxawan repeated the assertion that he had made to Saman, that if fines could go to zero without a response from authorities, which was repeated on the streets. Shaxawan spoke to the English woman he mentioned in the previous meeting, saying she could guarantee that fines for unlawful employment were transferred to other individuals if they were the culpable business owner. These will be Hungarians who live nearby, Shaxawan said. They will be paid between £2,000 and £3,000, and their names would be used to determine responsibility for the fines. He did not give any further information, but an immigration lawyer we talked to suggested that this could be much like a speeding fine and naming someone else on the paperwork as the person driving and liable to pay the fine. Ali's total bill would be about £4,600 per illicit employee, according to Shaxawan. He said he had done it safely in Manchester, Birmingham, Blackpool, and Leeds, and the procedure took about four weeks. Ali's firm would then have to be closed, reopened, and reregistered under a new name, according to him. Ali was then allowed into the RKS branch, and Shaxawan followed him. Shaxawan demonstrated evidence on his computer identifying the individuals he claimed to have helped before inside an office. The scheme, according to Shaxawan, would deceive Immigration Enforcement officers who would not have time to investigate the details. Ali was then introduced to the narcotic, Zohaib Hussain. During the meeting, Shaxawan remained in the room throughout the meeting. Mr Hussain answered questions about his cover story - the mini-mart and the immigrant fine - quickly and in a hushed tone.

How many illegal workers? So how much is the fine? How many times did they catch you?

Do you sell vaping?

then asked with a chuckle. Legal or illegal? Bit of both as well?

When Ali said his mini-mart was registered under someone else's name, he was very clever, but already very clever.

The first step, Mr Hussain said, would be to deal with the fine.

We'll look at certain other things we'll have to do as precautionsif Ali was not allowed to get off the fine.Sometimes we may need to make papers,Mr Hussain said, referring tobusiness deals. Ali asked if the fine would be transferred to someone else's name. That will be the last resort, Hussain said.

Mr Hussain cautioned that the immigration authorities would want to jump on the fine straight away, putting a cutting-motion across his throat. His charges will be £3,500, and he'll

look after us. Ali then begged Ali to forward any future Immigration Enforcement letters with Shaxawan. To senior immigration lawyer Bryony Rest, who told us Hussain was clearly promising to falsify documents, we showed our undercover filming and translations. She said there were definitely theft and immigration offences taking place, and she would expect law enforcement to investigate. When we asked Mr Hussain for comment, he replied by email that denied all allegations, insinuations, and assertions we had sent to him.

Mr Shaxawan Jawad, the individual named in your letter, is not connected with me in any manner; professional, personal, or otherwise. RKS Solicitors said the company was conducting an internal audit, and

the individual concerned

had been suspended pending further investigation, according to a BBC interview. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), according to the Solicitrs Regulation authority,

We are already informingMr Hussain is employed as a paralegal under tight surveillance. The individual is not licensed or instructed to provide immigration and tax assistance.

The company did not comment on Shaxawan Jawad. It said that it did not condone unlawful conduct and that it was committed to the

highest standards of professionalism, ethics, and public service. Shaxawan, also known as Kardos Mateen, told us by email that he categorically denied every allegation, insinuation, and assertion made in our coverage, and that if you're looking for RKS Solicitors, he was