Home Office worker who granted asylum applications in return for cash bungs of up to £3,500 is jailed for more than four years
A Home Office worker who cold-called asylum seekers and offered to grant their UK asylum applications in return for cash has been jailed.
Imran Mulla, 39, can be pictured for the first time by MailOnline today after he was sentenced to four-and-a-half-years in prison for taking a £3,500 bung from a Bangladeshi man.
Mulla, from Blackburn, Lancashire, telephoned asylum seekers who would likely lose their cases and told them he could help get their rejection overturned in return for cash.
The civil servant, who worked for the Home Office in Manchester, continued to take money from one asylum seeker when he was under investigation by his bosses.
He has pleaded guilty to immigration offences and bribery at Preston Crown Court after manipulating the system to overturn a refused asylum claim.
Another man, Nural Amin Begh, 23, was jailed for 18 months, for bribery after he paid Mulla to grant his asylum application.
Frances Killeen, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: ‘Imran Mulla was in a trusted position in the asylum team at the Home Office.
‘He abused that trust to line his own pockets by offering to change the outcome of asylum applications for money’.
Imran Mulla, 39, was sentenced to four-and-a-half-years for offering to approve asylum applications in return for cash
Mulla worked as an executive officer in the asylum team based in Manchester.
He had completed all his training including courses on security and data protection and counter fraud, bribery and corruption.
He managed a digital caseload and interviewed asylum seekers, considering their applications.
Begh is a foreign national from Bangladesh who was refused asylum on February 15 2024. He was informed by letter and advised of the appeal policy.
The following day, he was contacted by Mulla, who obtained his details from Home Office systems.
Six days later, Begh transferred £1,500 into Mulla’s account. The pair communicated several times over the following days.
On March 13, Mulla breached policy to allocate Begh’s case to himself and granted the asylum application.
Begh transferred further cash over the next few months totalling £3,500.
Mulla pleaded guilty on March 12 2025, at Preston Crown Court, to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, unauthorised access to computer material and three counts of bribery.
Around the same time telephoned his second target, a Turkish national who was waiting to hear if his asylum had been granted.
Mulla rang the Turkish national, giving a false name, and told the man his application was likely to be refused but he could help if he paid him £2,000.
He told the man he would call back later.
The man was concerned about the call so he reported it to his immigration solicitor and Mulla was arrested in March 2024. He made no comment during his police interviews.
While under investigation, Mulla continued to receive money from Begh.
Mulla pleaded guilty on March 12 2025, at Preston Crown Court, to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, unauthorised access to computer material and three counts of bribery.
Begh pleaded guilty on June 9 2025, prior to his trial starting at Preston Crown Court, to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and two counts of bribery.
Foreign squatters who took over pensioner’s home are FINALLY kicked out: Suspected ‘Romanian’ teenage ringleader pleads guilty as it emerges woman had been stealing from local charity shops
A gang of suspected foreign criminals who seized the home of a frail pensioner have finally been booted out after the woman’s plight was raised by MailOnline.
For the last two months a horde of alleged squatters have been running riot at the £590,000 terraced home in Chingford, north east London.
It’s believed Eastern European crooks ‘deliberately’ targeted the three-bedroom property while the woman, who is in her 80s, was visiting a 102-year-old friend.
Despite outrage from neighbours and the elderly woman’s home being in the hands of strangers, the Metropolitan Police initially refused to kick the group out, amid months of seeming confusion over whether it was a civil or criminal issue.
But within days of MailOnline breaking the news about the fiasco, officers took ‘decisive’ action and removed the gaggle of home invaders.
It comes as it can today be revealed one of the women involved with the group has been accused of stealing from a charity shop, with police confirming a teenager had been arrested on suspicion of theft after failing to appear at court.
A ‘large number’ of police swooped on the property on Friday morning, arresting a 19-year-old woman, while other occupants were told to leave.
Police have since served an eviction notice and the ‘horrified’ homeowner has now regained the property but has since suffered a serious health condition.
When MailOnline visited the scene yesterday, all her furniture had been removed and piled up in her front garden amid claims it had been trashed by squatters.
A group of foreign squatters who took over a pensioner’s home have been removed. It is unclear if those pictured near the property were among those involved
Pictures obtained by MailOnline showed a large number of people gathered outside the home, which was allegedly taken over by squatters at the end of April
Pictured is the scene of the home on Monday after police raided it and removed the unauthorised occupants. Piles of furniture, feared to have been ruined by the gang, has since been left stacked outside
The news comes as fresh claims today emerged one of the gang’s suspected ringleaders had terrorised a charity shop, allegedly trying to steal a £7 pack of plates.
The woman – thought to be of Romanian descent – is said to have tried to snatch the floral set of bowls from a nearby British Heart Foundation outlet, with one worker at the store branding the act ‘disgraceful’.
Police said a 19-year-old arrested on suspicion of squatting was also arrested and charged on Friday with failing to appear in court in relation to a previous theft offence.
She appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Saturday where she pleaded guilty to theft. She will be sentenced at a later date.
A spokeswoman for the Met added: ‘On Friday, June 20 at 10.40am, police attended an address in Chingford following reports of squatting.
‘Officers had been working with the local Safer Neighbourhood Teams and in partnership with the local authority to resolve this issue and support the property owner.
‘A 19-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of squatting in a residential building and immigration offences. She has been bailed pending further enquiries.
‘She was also served an eviction notice and formally evicted from the property.
‘The owner was informed and the property was secured by officers.
‘Officers continue extra patrols in the local area following this matter and while further enquiries are carried out.’
Former Conservative Party Leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is the local MP, slammed the shameless squatters, branding them ‘scum’.
He has since written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper demanding a change in the rules around squatting and to give police greater powers to step in.
Squatters allegedly seized the home of the elderly woman in Chingford, north-east London. Pictured: people seen leaving the property earlier this month. It’s unclear if they were among those squatting
A number of people were seen leaving the home when MailOnline visited it earlier this month
Furniture, including beds, cupboards, drawers and other goods were removed by relatives and neighbours of the pensioner who owns the London home . They were seen piled up on Monday
‘I am very pleased that the police have taken action at last and these “squatters” have finally been kicked out and some arrested,’ Sir Iain said last night.
‘This was not the only property that they and others have occupied causing mayhem in our area but it has illustrated how appalling the official response is.’
Speaking before the group was finally removed from pensioner’s home, the former minister raged it was both ‘absurd’ and ‘astonishing’ they had not been evicted sooner.
‘They’re scum,’ Sir Iain previously told Mail+. ‘It’s the only thing you can say about them.
‘This whole thing is organised – it’s an organised crime… [but] trying to get police to take action on this is completely astonishing.’
The elderly homeowner, understood to be a widowed mother, was forced to live with family in the West Country, after having suffered a serious health condition following the ordeal.
She is now trying to rebuild her life, with relatives and neighbours having helped to clear her home after it was finally taken back by the authorities.
When MailOnline visited the scene, large piles of furniture could be seen stacked outside the elderly woman’s humble three-bedroom terraced home.
The furniture is believed to have been left filthy and caked in grim by the gang of alleged foreigners and now needs to be dumped.
One source, involved in the effort to remove the group after the pensioner’s plight was revealed by MailOnline, said: ‘I’m still just aghast at what has gone on over the past few months and how [the woman] will be able to recover from this.
‘I can only imagine that it will never feel like home again, [it’s] completely hideous.’
Locals claimed up to 25 people were seen coming and going from the pensioner’s property
Pictured are the plates one of the alleged squatters is accused of trying to steal from a charity shop
The property was reportedly taken over at the end of April while the pensioner – a woman believed to be in her 80s – was visiting her 102-year-old friend
Pictured is the street in which the elderly woman’s home was allegedly overrun by squatters
Locals living in the street claimed up to 25 people would cram into the house after seizing it – including a number of children.
Videos seen by MailOnline show a large number of people gathering outside the home in the weeks after it had been taken control of.
It’s thought the squatters were from Eastern Europe. As well as allegedly seizing the property, the group of unwanted house occupiers also caused mayhem in the street.
‘They would throw rubbish, thieve from the shop, urinate on people’s walls, loud noise until 1/2am in the morning,’ one neighbour said last night. ‘They were always stealing.
‘We’re here and we’re scared to leave the house. We don’t want to go on holiday. This needs to stop. The law needs to be changed.’
Another person, who has lived in the street for about 15 years and knows the elderly woman, described the city suburb as ‘quiet’.
But when the squatters moved in, things descended into chaos.
‘it was a nightmare all around for all the neighbourhood here,’ said the neighbour, who asked not to be named.
‘Mostly it was the neighbourhood noise, the stereo was always on and the windows were open.
‘Children were playing with their bikes and balls in and out with cars moving. Accidents could have happened for them.
Among those pictured entering the home were a number of women. It’s unclear if those pictured were among those allegedly squatting at the property
‘They were not really educated because they would pee in a corner and throw their rubbish in the alleyway.
‘When my son and daughter came back after work at midnight they noticed two or three times the children were playing out at midnight, and talking with their families through the windows inside.’
Locals said those living in the house had claimed to have a tenancy agreement saying they can stay there. However, this was disputed, with Sir Iain branding the claim ‘total rubbish’.
The fiasco sparked outrage among neighbours, with one 63-year-old fuming: ‘They’re taking the p***. This elderly woman has worked so hard for this country and paid her taxes and now this has happened… It’s f***ing outrageous.’
MailOnline understands Conservative councillors at Waltham Forest Council, alongside Sir Iain, had raised the alarm with senior police chiefs over the incident – writing to the Met’s commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley.
Catherine Saumarez is the local councillor and has been dealing with the incident for months.
She fears a ‘churn’ in the number of police sergeants covering the area had led to ‘loopholes’ which are being ‘exploited’ by gangs.
Tory Cllr Saumarez, who represents the Larkswood ward, said since being elected in 2018 she has seen ‘six police sergeants’ come and go.
She has questioned why police were ‘all ready to wash their hands’ of dealing with the squatters at first – before then ‘coming in mob handed’ after the issue was reported by MailOnline.
‘What was shocking was the complete lack of proactive policing,’ she said last night.
‘People are outraged. It’s a real sense of the violation…you expect the police to look after you when you need it… [but] as far as policing is concerned, there has been a complete dereliction.’
She feared criminal gangs were seizing on the seeming confusion over what was a civil and criminal offence – and the constant ‘churn’ of senior neighbourhood cops.
Several young children were also seen entering and leaving the home when MailOnline visited
‘It’s so clear this loop hole is known about and is being exploited. The more it gets known about it will only get worse. People are now worried they will lose their homes.’
She added: ‘We have had a huge amount of churn in our social neighbourhoods police.
‘I’ve had six sergeants during my tenure of seven years and I’ve not even met some of them.
‘That’s of course going to have a knock-on effect. There needs to be some stability.’
Speaking to MailOnline, one man living on the street said the squatters left locals ‘paranoid’ and fearing for their homes.
‘They have been here since April,’ the man, who asked not to be named, said.
‘There has been trouble. Apparently there’s a lot of people in there and a lot of children.’
A woman added: ‘There’s two old ladies either side [of the house] and they are kept up every night with loud music and doors slamming.
‘It has been reported to the police and they said they can’t do anything. When [the elderly woman] does go back, how can they live there?
‘They are not even hiding that they are squatting. They just don’t care.’
News of the frail homeowner’s plight also outraged MailOnline readers, with more than 11,000 people backing calls for police to be given tougher powers to deal with squatters.
Sir Iain had been fighting to try and remove the group since the beginning of May, regularly liaising with the police.
But the former Tory minister said he had been left stunned by the seeming inaction from authorities to kick the group out.
The Chingford and Woodford Green MP claimed confusion over whether the squatters’ actions constituted a civil or criminal breach had effectively paralysed authorities.
MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said he was ‘astonished’ no action had been taken to remove the alleged squatters from his constituent’s home
He said the Met had refused to take action in the belief it was a civil breach – while ‘complexities’ and delays in arranging a court order to remove the occupiers had left the pensioner effectively homeless for months.
The MP added: ‘There’s no question I think [the squatters] broke in, which is an offence, and squatting in a residential building which is occupied – that’s an offence.’
Squatting is when someone deliberately enters property without permission and lives there, or intends to live there.
Under UK law, it is illegal to squat in a residential building such as a flat or house. It carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison, a £5,000 fine – or both.
However, when someone originally enters a property with permission of the landlord, it is not squatting – for instance those who have a rental or tenancy agreement.
Although squatting in non-residential building or land is not in itself illegal, it is a crime to damage the property.
And it’s usually a crime not to leave land or property when you’re instructed to do so by the homeowner, police, the council or through a repossession order.
There is a similar offence dubbed ‘cuckooing’, which is when a home is taken over by a group – often criminals – while the resident is still living there.
Concerns have seen been raised about the lack of visible policing in Chingford (pictured is the scene of the home on Monday)
There have been instances of drug dealers forcing their way into homes of disabled or vulnerable residents before setting up a narcotics factory there.
Cuckooing has recently been made a criminal offence as part of the Government’s new Crime and Policing Bill. It followed an amendment to the legislation, put forward by Sir Iain.
However, the Tory MP claimed the law still needed to be toughened up to stop crime gangs from seizing homes.
‘The law is too soft and too vague on this,’ he added. ‘Here we have something that’s meant to be an offence but police don’t get involved because it’s under the civil code.’
Speaking of the effect the ordeal has had on the elderly woman, Sir Iain added: ‘The impact on her has been profound as it would be on anybody.
‘But for someone of her age, the impact would be even greater.’
When MailOnline approached those living in the home in Chingford earlier this month, a woman claimed she had spoken to police who had told her ‘everything is good’.
After being asked about allegations squatters had moved into the home, the woman said: ‘I am still awaiting a response from the police.’
Pressed on claims they had kicked out the elderly woman to squat in the home, she added: ‘The police said everything is good.
‘They said it’s all fine. We don’t speak anymore. Nothing is happening and it’s fine.’
Waltham Forest Council is now in contact with the elderly homeowner.
A spokesman added: ‘We would like to commend the Metropolitan Police for taking decisive action in addressing this issue.
‘We are in close contact with the homeowner and family and we continue to provide ongoing support.’
