A married couple at the centre of a £16 million tax and immigration scam have escaped jail.

Mazharul Haque, 46, and Maksuda Begum, 45, both of Olive Road, Dartford, were a part of a four-person gang along with Londoners Mohammed Jilur Rahman Khan, 43, and Shaheda Roxsana, 47 who committed what is believed to be the largest ever visa fraud on UK soil.

They created more than 50 fake companies and documents dating back to 2011.

The scam came to light after the Home Office identified suspicious patterns in a series of visa applications.

In order to get a visa, applicants have to abide by strict financial requirements, earning points based either on previous earnings or by demonstrating they had access to a minimum of £50,000 to invest in UK business.

Case workers noticed several applications were being submitted using slight variations on the same company names.

An investigation by Immigration Enforcement’s Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) team was launched and HMRC were called in.

It discovered millions of pounds had been laundered through different bank accounts.

Officers found they charged some clients on temporary visas wanting to remain in the UK a minimum of £700 in cash for their fraudulent immigration services.

The group were also linked to another gang of five who were sentenced last year.

Being sentenced at Southwark Crown Court yesterday Khan, Roxsana, Haque and Begum were all given two-year suspended prison sentences.

Khan and Roxsana were also suspended from running a company for three years.

"This was a highly organised, sophisticated attack on the UK’s immigration system..." - Dave Fairclough

Alison Chipperton, assistant director of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: “These defendants willingly joined forces with an organised crime group to steal public money.

“HMRC worked closely with the Home Office to gather the strong evidence that has helped convict this group."

Dave Fairclough, from CFI, said: “This was a highly organised, sophisticated attack on the UK’s immigration system. My officers, working alongside our partners at HMRC, have shown tremendous tenacity to bring this case to a successful conclusion.

“It sends a clear message that we will not hesitate to prosecute anyone involved in this type of criminality.”

Maryam Arnott, head of the specialist fraud division at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This is believed to be the largest ever visa fraud that the CPS has dealt with and it is staggering the lengths these individuals went to in order to exploit the UK’s immigration system.‎

“The hard work and expertise of our Specialist Fraud Division and HMRC resulted in them having to face the consequences of their crimes.”

Anyone with information on anyone committing this type of fraud should report it to HMRC online, or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.

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