A four-month BBC investigation has exposed a sprawling Kurdish-led network using “ghost directors” to register over 100 mini-marts, barbershops, and car washes across the UK, enabling illegal employment of asylum seekers and widespread sale of counterfeit cigarettes and vapes.

The scheme, which spans from Dundee to Devon, may be costing the UK billions in lost revenue while evading immigration enforcement through fake paperwork and hidden stockpiles.

Undercover reporters posing as asylum seekers were offered businesses in Crewe, Hull, and Liverpool. One Crewe mini-mart owner, Surchi—himself a rejected asylum seeker from Iraqi Kurdistan—proposed a £18,000 sale and a £250 monthly fee to a ghost director for name registration. He admitted to employing children as young as 12 and hiding illicit goods in a “stash car” and basement to avoid Trading Standards raids, which he dismissed as inconsequential.

Ghost directors such as Hadi Ahmad Ali and Ismaeel Farzanda, both previously disqualified for illegal sales, reportedly managed dozens of companies. They charged monthly fees to provide bank accounts and avoid council tax, dissolving and re-registering businesses with slight name changes to dodge scrutiny. Financial investigator Graham Barrow described the pattern as “all red flags for organized crime.”

The network thrives on deprived High Streets, with undercover purchases confirming illegal tobacco sold at £4 per pack—far below the legal price of £16. Weekly profits from illicit sales reportedly reach £3,000. Asylum seekers, barred from legal employment, described grueling 14-hour shifts for £4/hour, living in fear of deportation and lacking formal rejection letters.

Builders offered £6,000 hiding spots designed to fool sniffer dogs, including loft-installed vending machines. Companies House, now equipped with enhanced powers, is sharing data with law enforcement. Since 2021, Trading Standards has raided 17 linked shops, while HMRC estimates £2.2 billion in annual losses from counterfeit vapes and cigarettes.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood responded with a pledge to increase raids by 51%, impose fines up to £60,000, and execute 35,000 removals. “Illegal working incentivizes irregular migration – we won’t stand for it,” she said.

The investigation highlights the exploitation of asylum rules that prohibit work, fueling broader debates on migration, enforcement, and economic vulnerability. One undercover reporter, himself a former asylum seeker, emphasized: “These activities don’t represent us.”