Four Bangladeshi immigrants and an Indian national were jailed on Friday by Southwark Crown Court for operating a fraudulent Bangladeshi visa scam and stole £13 million from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Ringleader Abul Kalam Muhammad Rezaul Karim, who is now on the run, and his accomplices set up 32 false companies and created fake documentation, used by Bangladeshi nationals in an estimated 900 fraudulent visa applications, reports The Telegraph, reports the UNB.

Karim, 42, of Albert Basin Way, Beckton, and known as AKM, was sentenced to 10 and a half years in his absence after being found guilty following a 35-week trial.

His brother-in-law Enamul Karim, 34, and Kazi Borkot Ullah, 39, both of Halbutt Street, Dagenham, Jalpa Trivedi, 41, of St Albans and Mohammed Tamij Uddin, 47, of Witan Street, Bethnal Green, were also convicted.

At Southwark Crown Court Judge Martin Griffith said: ‘The purpose was to fool the Home Office into granting visas and it worked.

They also have falsely claimed £13 million in tax repayments, and facilitated around 900 bogus visa applications.

They charged clients for temporary visas wanting to remain in the UK a minimum of £700 in cash for their fraudulent immigration services, the court said.

Officers found that Karim, his brother-in-law Enamul Karim, 34, Kazi Borkot Ullah, 39, accountant Jalpa Trivedi, 41 and Mohammed Tamij Uddin, 47,

The gang claimed their clients were employees as part of their tax and immigration fraud. They created fake payslips and provided false information on around 900 visa applications to ensure eligibility for a Tier 1 visa.

An investigation into their wrongdoing was the ‘longest ever undertaken’ by Immigration Enforcement’s Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) team.