Corrupt Asylum Officer Jailed for Selling UK Stay Rights

Home Office worker jailed after taking bribes to approve failed asylum claims — we explain how he was caught and what it means for the asylum system. A Home Office civil servant who granted asylum applications in return for bribes totalling thousands of pounds has been jailed for four and a half years following a criminal investigation that revealed serious breaches of public trust, unlawful access to government systems, and multiple acts of bribery.

Imran Mulla, aged 39, from Blackburn, Lancashire, worked as an executive officer within the Home Office’s asylum team based in Manchester. He was responsible for managing digital caseloads, conducting interviews with applicants, and determining the outcome of asylum claims. Despite having undergone formal training in data protection, counter-fraud procedures, and anti-corruption protocols, Mulla used his position to exploit vulnerable individuals and profit from decisions he was entrusted to make impartially.

The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that Mulla telephoned asylum seekers using contact details he had accessed without authorisation from official Home Office systems. He targeted individuals who had been refused asylum or were likely to face rejection, offering to reverse those decisions in exchange for cash payments.

One of those targeted was Nural Amin Begh, a 23-year-old Bangladeshi national who had been refused asylum on 15 February 2024. The day after receiving a formal refusal letter, Begh was contacted by Mulla, who presented himself under a false identity and offered to approve the application for a fee. Six days later, Begh transferred £1,500 into Mulla’s personal bank account. The pair remained in contact over the following weeks. On 13 March 2024, Mulla unlawfully reassigned Begh’s case to himself in breach of internal allocation procedures and proceeded to grant his asylum claim. In the months that followed, Begh made additional payments to Mulla totalling £3,500. Despite already being under active investigation by his department at this time, Mulla continued to accept money from Begh, whose payments formed the basis of one of the key counts of bribery brought against both men.

Read more: Corrupt Tax Officer Jailed for Stealing £211K from UK Taxpayers

Preston Crown Court heard that Mulla had also attempted to solicit payment from a second asylum seeker, a Turkish national, whose case was pending at the time. Mulla contacted the man under a false name and claimed his application was likely to be rejected unless a payment of £2,000 was made. The asylum seeker refused the offer and instead reported the call to his solicitor, prompting further scrutiny of Mulla’s conduct and ultimately leading to his arrest in March 2024.