He was convicted along with two solicitors and a legal clerk
Southwark Crown Court has sentenced part-time immigration tribunal judge Rasib Ghaffar to three years in prison for his involvement in a £1.8 million legal aid fraud.
Ghaffar, a barrister, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, along with solicitor advocate Azar Khan, solicitor Joseph Kyeremeh, and legal clerk Gazi Khan. All four individuals were found guilty of the same charge.
The fraud, which occurred in 2011 and 2012, involved inflating legal fees and work claims. The fraudulent activities centred on four claims related to the legal costs of four acquitted defendants, totalling £1,856,584. Of this amount, £469,477 was paid out.
The Law Society Gazette reported that Ghaffar, 54, submitted a fee note in his name for £184,000, claiming to have worked over 350 hours. However, he had only been instructed seven days before the conclusion of the case. Gazi Khan was described as the leader of the criminal operation and worked as a clerk for several solicitor firms. Azar Khan, the principal partner at City Law Solicitors, began work on the case on July 1, 2011, approximately ten weeks before it concluded. He claimed to have completed over 500 hours of work, amounting to more than £162,000, with the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) paying out £93,000 based on false claims.
Joseph Kyeremeh, another principal partner at the same firm, submitted claims totaling more than £176,000, with £60,000 coming from public funds. His claims related to 650 hours of work.
Azar Khan and Kyeremeh were sentenced in December 2021 to two years in prison, suspended for two years. Gazi Khan received a five-year prison sentence in 2023.
Malcolm McHaffie of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) commented on the case, stating, “These convicted defendants defrauded the Legal Aid Agency for their own purposes. They fraudulently took advantage of a statutory scheme designed to help acquitted defendants with their genuinely incurred legal costs.”
