A UK immigration tribunal has rejected the government’s attempt to deport a Nigerian man who was previously jailed for his involvement in a scheme to produce fraudulent driving licences.
Tunde Lawal Alao was sentenced to 31 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud over the production of fake driving licences between 2019 and January 2022.
The fraud did not succeed, but the court that sentenced him was told that the scheme could have generated a significant amount of money had it worked.
Alao was also ordered to pay a £149 victim surcharge and was released from prison in August 2023.
The Home Office later sought to deport him. Alao challenged the decision, arguing that he had not committed any further offences since his conviction and had taken part in courses aimed at addressing his behaviour.
The case was considered by the UK’s Upper Tribunal after a lower immigration court had ruled in Alao’s favour.
Alao had arrived in the UK in 2004 or 2005. He subsequently spent a period in the country without valid immigration permission before applying for status under the EU Settlement Scheme in August 2020.
He was granted limited leave to remain in February 2021.
Following his release from prison, Alao began working part-time as an office assistant and client coordinator for the same employer in October 2023.
His employer provided evidence supporting his appeal and described him as a valued member of the team. The employer also told the tribunal that Alao had developed relationships with colleagues and participated in community activities.
The employer argued that allowing him to remain in the UK would benefit both the company and the wider community.
Upper Tribunal Judge Priya Solanki upheld the earlier decision rejecting the Home Office’s deportation appeal.
The judge acknowledged the seriousness of Alao’s offences and the public interest in protecting people from fraud. The ruling also recognised the government’s interest in removing foreign nationals who commit serious crimes and in preventing unlawful immigration.
However, the tribunal found that the Home Office had not established that Alao’s current conduct represented a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat to a fundamental interest of UK society.
The tribunal considered his risk of reoffending to be relatively low. The judgment gave a calculated risk of six per cent within one year and 12 per cent within two years.
Judge Solanki said that the risk could be reduced further if Alao continued to take part in interventions addressing the behaviour associated with his offending.
The judge also noted that Alao had not been convicted of another offence since his release from prison and had established employment.
The Upper Tribunal concluded that the lower court’s decision was well reasoned and that there had been no error of law.
As a result, the Home Office’s appeal against the decision allowing Alao to remain in the UK was rejected.
The ruling does not overturn Alao’s fraud conviction or his prison sentence. It concerns the separate question of whether the legal requirements for his deportation had been established based on his circumstances at the time of the immigration appeal.