Police have arrested three people in connection with an organised criminal network suspected of orchestrating dozens of fraudulent asylum applications by helping migrants fabricate claims of persecution based on sexual orientation.
The arrests followed a covert investigation by a national broadcaster earlier this year, which exposed how law firms and immigration advisers were assisting migrants in constructing false evidence of homosexuality to strengthen asylum bids. Home Office immigration enforcement officers conducted raids on addresses in London, targeting individuals accused of charging migrants between £1,000 and £4,500 for forged documents and staged photographs designed to support fabricated claims.
Two suspects were arrested on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, while a third was detained on suspicion of being unlawfully present in the country. Officers seized mobile phones, jewellery and several thousand pounds in cash during the operations.
How the fraud scheme operated
The criminal network is believed to have assisted more than 100 asylum applications, predominantly from Bangladeshi men who claimed they would face persecution if returned home. Chris Foster, a regional lead for criminal investigations at the Home Office, identified the suspected ringleaders as being connected to Apanjon, a Bangladeshi community LGBT organisation based in Whitechapel, east London.
According to Foster, the gang provided a range of fraudulent materials to support false claims.
"We've got some intelligence that they can provide fake letters and documents, and they could charge anywhere between £1,000 and £4,500. It could be letters of support from Apanjon, it could be staged photographs, suggesting that these people are gay, it could be letters from people claiming to be in a friendship or a sexual relationship - [a] same-sex relationship - as the claimants."
Immigration caseworkers initially detected suspicious patterns in asylum applications that prompted the Home Office to launch a formal investigation several months before the arrests. Foster confirmed that some of the fraudulent applications would have "undoubtedly" been approved by immigration judges, meaning false claimants may have already been granted asylum status.
What evidence has been found against the group?
Immigration judges have previously ruled that evidence submitted by Apanjon was unreliable or lacked credibility. In one documented case, a judge found that an applicant who claimed to have attended the organisation's events had submitted photographs that were staged rather than genuine.
The Home Office identified a pattern in which the group would vouch for men only after their initial asylum applications had been rejected on political grounds. In one instance, an applicant did not claim to be gay until nine years after submitting his original asylum request, suggesting the sexual orientation claim was a secondary strategy rather than a genuine basis for protection.
The tactics employed by Apanjon mirror those exposed in a separate investigation published on 15 April, which revealed how advisers were helping migrants construct false evidence. In that undercover operation, an adviser named Tanisa Khan offered what she described as a
"comprehensive package"of supporting materials, including photographs taken at gay venues and other documentation.
Khan directed the undercover reporter to attend an event run by Worcester LGBT, a community group she suggested would strengthen the false asylum narrative. At one gathering at a community centre in Beckton, east London, attendees told the reporter that the vast majority of people present were not genuinely gay, with one stating: "Nobody is a gay here. Not even 1% are gay. Not even 0.01% are gay."
Khan denied that she had advised the reporter to submit a false claim or offered to fabricate evidence, instead attributing the misunderstanding to communication difficulties. Worcester LGBT has since closed its operations. The organisation's founder previously stated that the group did not create or endorse fabricated evidence in asylum cases and maintained it was not the organisation's responsibility to verify whether individuals were genuinely gay.
What is the scale of the problem?
The Home Office is currently reviewing more than 100 asylum claims connected to the criminal network. A separate investigation led to two arrests in May, including a woman in her late forties on suspicion of providing an immigration service and a man in his early twenties on suspicion of fraud.
The Home Office has acknowledged that it is examining a broader pattern of false asylum claims based on fabricated sexual orientation, alongside separate concerns that domestic violence protections are being misused. The Immigration Advice Authority has launched its own investigation into the findings exposed by the broadcaster's reporting.
In an August 2026 case, the Upper Tribunal dismissed an appeal from a Bangladeshi asylum seeker after finding that staged photographs and other evidence did not establish his claimed sexual orientation, reinforcing judicial scepticism toward such claims.
What are the legal consequences?
A conviction for asylum fraud carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 10 years. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood issued a stark warning to those involved in the scheme.
"Those faking persecution are beneath contempt and mock real victims who need protection. To the gangs profiting from this disgraceful fraud: you will be prosecuted, stripped of your dirty money and shut down. And to those cheating the system, your claim will be thrown out, and you will be removed from this country."
The investigation also uncovered how bogus medical conditions and fabricated news websites were being used to strengthen fraudulent asylum applications beyond those based on false sexual orientation claims.
Key Facts
- Three people arrested in London on suspicion of fraud, immigration offences and unlawful presence in the country
- The criminal network charged migrants between £1,000 and £4,500 for forged documents, staged photographs and fake letters of support
- More than 100 asylum claims linked to the gang are under review by the Home Office
- Asylum fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment
- The arrests follow investigations by a national broadcaster that exposed similar schemes involving other advisers and community organisations
