"The BBC uncovered a criminal network using "ghost directors" to represent companies' official paperwork while remaining uninvolved in day-to-day operations. Undercover journalists posing as asylum seekers were told how easy it was to take over a shop and make thousands of pounds a week from illegal tobacco. HMRC estimates the trade in illegal cigarettes and vapes costs the UK at least 2.2bn in lost revenue annually."
"The Home Office has promised to investigate after a BBC investigation uncovered more than 100 businesses linked to a Kurdish gang enabling migrants to work illegally selling counterfeit cigarettes in High Street mini-marts. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said these kinds of networks "create an incentive for people to come here illegally"."
"Asylum seekers working 14-hour shifts for as little as 4 an hour, often in legal limbo while waiting for Home Office decisions. More than 100 mini-marts, barbershops and car washes, operating from Dundee to south Devon, were linked to the crime network by the BBC. But a financial crime investigator told the BBC he believes it goes much wider. The BBC also discovered Kurdish builders offering to construct hidden compartments to conceal contraband during police raids, and Facebook groups advertising mini-marts for sale."
More than 100 mini-marts, barbershops and car washes across the UK are linked to a Kurdish criminal network using ghost directors to represent companies while staying uninvolved in operations. Migrants and asylum seekers are enabled to work illegally selling counterfeit cigarettes and vapes, with HMRC estimating at least £2.2bn lost revenue annually. Asylum seekers reported 14-hour shifts for as little as 4 an hour and legal limbo while awaiting Home Office decisions. Kurdish builders offered hidden compartments to conceal contraband and Facebook groups advertised mini-marts for sale. Senior politicians urged government investigation and called the activity a pull factor for illegal migration.
Read at www.bbc.com
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