Exclusive: Fraud charges in bogus citizenship inquiry

TWO men have been charged in connection with an alleged scam involving bogus qualifications for British citizenship which was exposed by the Yorkshire Post.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Sep 2011, 07:00 BST

Yousaf Amin and Sajad Khan, both from Bradford, have been charged with fraud following the alleged swindle, which ran from a Leeds training centre.

West Yorkshire Police launched an inquiry in 2008 after the Yorkshire Post revealed how around 800 would-be citizens from across the north of England had parted with £350 a time for a worthless qualification. The allegations revolve around a company calling itself Training Direct which ran English language courses that were advertised as being accredited by the City and Guilds examining board and purported to be the required qualification to apply for British citizenship.

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Applications for citizenship can be granted through a language qualification if the training course and final certificate are accredited by an exam board officially recognised by the Home Office.

But City and Guilds had no links to Training Direct. The courses ran for about four months, up to March 2008, at offices rented from Team Talk, a training centre in Torre Road, Leeds. Team Talk was owed thousands in unpaid fees after the company disappeared.

Amin, 33, from Barkerend, and Khan, 30, of Manningham, are due to appear before Bradford magistrates court on September 27. Both men face four fraud charges and Amin also faces a charge under the Immigration Act.