Key facts
- Solicitor Mohammad Alias Yousaf filmed suggesting a way to make a £45,000 illegal-working fine disappear.
- Yousaf proposed shifting fine liability to an overseas individual declaring themselves the business owner.
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a review of the illegal-working fines system.
- The maximum penalty for knowingly employing illegal workers rose to £60,000 in 2024.
- £215 million in illegal-working fines were issued between 2021-2025, with only £60.5 million collected.
A solicitor has been secretly filmed by the BBC explaining how he could make a £45,000 illegal-working fine disappear. Mohammad Alias Yousaf, based in Bradford, suggested shifting liability for the fine to an individual overseas who would declare themselves the business owner. The solicitor told an undercover reporter posing as a mini-mart owner that his services would cost 10% of the fine, £4,500, with money up front. He proposed using a 'ghost director' to mask the real owner of the business. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a review of the fines system in response to the BBC's investigation. Yousaf has denied providing such advice or giving false information to the Home Office.