Latest news with #IraqiKurd
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Iraqi businessman granted asylum in UK ‘led billion-dollar oil smuggling plot to help fund Iran's terror state'
Trucks full of cash made from the scheme have allegedly been sent to Iran to finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps TERROR PLOT Iraqi businessman granted asylum in UK 'led billion-dollar oil smuggling plot to help fund Iran's terror state' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN IRAQI businessman granted asylum in the UK has been accused of running a billion dollar oil smuggling plot to finance global terrorism and domestic tyranny by Iran. The Trump administration claims Salim Ahmed Said, 47, has been running a network of firms passing off Iranian oil as a product of Iraq to avoid sanctions for at least five years. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up Trucks full of cash made from the scheme have allegedly been sent to Iran to finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iraqi Kurd Said became a British citizen after seeking refuge from the Saddam Hussein regime in the UK in the early 2000s. He owns a £27 million hotel in Kensington, West London, and runs two British companies blacklisted by the US Treasury. Said was placed under US sanctions on July 3 but UK authorities so far do not appear to have taken action against him. The US government said that some of the money from the plot had benefited the IRGC's elite Quds Force, a designated terrorist organisation which leads Tehran's overseas operations. The Quds Force is suspected of kidnapping and assassination plots in Britain, the US and Europe and supports terror groups including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthi movement, and Shia militias in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. US Treasury documents state: 'Salim Ahmed Said runs a network of companies that have been selling Iranian oil falsely declared as Iraqi oil since at least 2020. 'Said's companies use ship-to-ship transfers and other obfuscation techniques to hide their activities. 'Said's companies and vessels blend Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, which is then sold to Western buyers, via Iraq or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as purely Iraqi oil using forged documentation to avoid sanctions.'
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Iraqi businessman granted asylum in UK ‘led billion-dollar oil smuggling plot to help fund Iran's terror state'
AN IRAQI businessman granted asylum in the UK has been accused of running a billion dollar oil smuggling plot to finance global terrorism and domestic tyranny by Iran. The Trump administration claims Salim Ahmed Said, 47, has been running a network of firms passing off Iranian oil as a product of Iraq to avoid sanctions for at least five years. Advertisement Trucks full of cash made from the scheme have allegedly been sent to Iran to finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iraqi Kurd Said became a British citizen after seeking refuge from the He owns a £27 million hotel in Kensington, Said was placed under US sanctions on July 3 but UK authorities so far do not appear to have taken action against him. Advertisement Read More on UK News The US government said that some of the money from the plot had benefited the US Treasury documents state: 'Salim Ahmed Said runs a network of companies that have been selling Iranian oil falsely declared as Iraqi oil since at least 2020. 'Said's companies use ship-to-ship transfers and other obfuscation techniques to hide their activities. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Live Blog 'Said's companies and vessels blend Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, which is then sold to Western buyers, via Iraq or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as purely Iraqi oil using forged documentation to avoid sanctions.' 1 Salim Ahmed Said has been accused of running a billion dollar oil smuggling plot to finance global terrorism Credit: Supplied
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illegal migrant can stay in UK because his ID was stolen
An illegal Iraqi Kurd migrant has been allowed to stay in Britain because his ID documents were stolen by the 'agent' who got him into the UK. The 31-year-old, who has not been named, has lost contact with his family since coming to Britain in 2016. Upper tribunal judge Sarah Pinder said this meant that he could not expect any family members to help him retrieve the necessary identity documents to be able to return to Iraq. Nor was he likely to be able to get new ID papers from the Iraq embassy in London. Returning to Iraq without documents to prove his identity would put him in danger because of the tough border controls and security checks operated by the state. Judge Pinder ruled that this would put the migrant at risk of treatment that would breach his human rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which states that 'no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in all circumstances'. She granted the Iraqi Kurd's appeal against his deportation by the Home Office, allowing him to remain in the UK 'on humanitarian protection grounds'. The disclosure, in court documents, sets a potential precedent for Channel migrants with data showing as few as one in 50 arrive with passports, often after being told by people smugglers to destroy them. Iraq was one of the top seven nations for Channel crossings last year with 2,064 reaching the UK in small boats. Labour has negotiated a new returns agreement with Iraq to swiftly deport illegal migrants who reach the UK from the country. It is part of a security pact for sharing intelligence and co-operation to crack down on people-smuggling gangs, which include many led by Iraqi Kurds. The case is the latest example exposed by The Telegraph where illegal migrants or convicted foreign criminals have used human rights laws to remain in the UK or halt their deportations. They include an Albanian criminal who avoided deportation after claiming his son had an aversion to foreign chicken nuggets, and a Pakistani paedophile who was jailed for child sex offences but escaped removal from the UK as it would be 'unduly harsh' on his own children. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the ruling was 'ludicrous'. 'We cannot allow an illegal immigrant to stay in the UK simply because he claims to have lost his papers – anyone could make this claim. The Government should simply ask the Iraqi embassy to issue the new relevant travel documents,' he said. 'Once again, we see a decision by an immigration judge that totally defies common sense. It is time judges in the immigration tribunal started applying some common sense and ensuring illegal immigrants with no right to be here are actually removed, rather than being allowed to stay on spurious or flimsy grounds.' The court was told the Iraqi Kurd was 10 when he was taken in by his uncle after his mother remarried. She is believed to have moved to Iran. In the eight years since he came to Britain, he had lost contact with his uncle. Efforts to track him down by the Red Cross, and an Iranian friend who travelled to Iraq, had failed. 'I do not accept that the appellant can resort to his family members in order to assist him with retrieving any existing identity documents nor with otherwise meeting and/or vouching for him at any arrival in the Iraqi Kurdish Region (IKR) to permit his entry into the IKR,' said Judge Pinder. She also said the 'level of information' provided by the Iraqi embassy was 'not sufficient for me to find that the appellant would be likely to secure identity documentation'. Judge Pinder concluded: 'Thus, I am satisfied that the appellant is reasonably unlikely to secure an Iraqi identity document, whether in the UK or on arrival in the IKR, which would permit him to enter the IKR and to travel internally without subjecting him to treatment, contrary to Article 3 ECHR.' Judge Pinder has made controversial rulings including allowing a Zimbabwean paedophile to stay in Britain because he would face 'hostility' in his home country. She was also one of two judges to declare that a Sudanese asylum seeker was a child despite the Home Office saying he was at least 23 with a receding hairline. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Illegal migrant can stay in UK because his ID was stolen
An illegal Iraqi Kurd migrant has been allowed to stay in Britain because his ID documents were stolen by the 'agent' who got him into the UK. The 31-year-old, who has not been named, has lost contact with his family since coming to Britain in 2016. Upper tribunal judge Sarah Pinder said this meant that he could not expect any family members to help him retrieve the necessary identity documents to be able to return to Iraq. Nor was he likely to be able to get new ID papers from the Iraq embassy in London. Returning to Iraq without documents to prove his identity would put him in danger because of the tough border controls and security checks operated by the state. Judge Pinder ruled that this would put the migrant at risk of treatment that would breach his human rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which states that 'no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in all circumstances'. She granted the Iraqi Kurd 's appeal against his deportation by the Home Office, allowing him to remain in the UK 'on humanitarian protection grounds'. The disclosure, in court documents, sets a potential precedent for Channel migrants with data showing as few as one in 50 arrive with passports, often after being told by people smugglers to destroy them. Iraq was one of the top seven nations for Channel crossings last year with 2,064 reaching the UK in small boats. Labour has negotiated a new returns agreement with Iraq to swiftly deport illegal migrants who reach the UK from the country. It is part of a security pact for sharing intelligence and co-operation to crack down on people-smuggling gangs, which include many led by Iraqi Kurds. The case is the latest example exposed by The Telegraph where illegal migrants or convicted foreign criminals have used human rights laws to remain in the UK or halt their deportations. They include an Albanian criminal who avoided deportation after claiming his son had an aversion to foreign chicken nuggets, and a Pakistani paedophile who was jailed for child sex offences but escaped removal from the UK as it would be 'unduly harsh' on his own children. 'Defies common sense' Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said the ruling was 'ludicrous'. 'We cannot allow an illegal immigrant to stay in the UK simply because he claims to have lost his papers – anyone could make this claim. The Government should simply ask the Iraqi Embassy to issue the new relevant travel documents,' he said. 'Once again, we see a decision by an immigration judge that totally defies common sense. It is time judges in the immigration tribunal started applying some common sense and ensuring illegal immigrants with no right to be here are actually removed, rather than being allowed to stay on spurious or flimsy grounds.' The court was told the Iraqi Kurd was 10 when he was taken in by his uncle after his mother remarried. She is believed to have moved to Iran. In the eight years since he came to Britain, he had lost contact with his uncle. Efforts to track him down by the Red Cross, and an Iranian friend who travelled to Iraq had failed. 'I do not accept that the Appellant can resort to his family members in order to assist him with retrieving any existing identity documents nor with otherwise meeting and/or vouching for him at any arrival in the Iraqi Kurdish Region (IKR) to permit his entry into the IKR,' said Judge Pinder. She also said the 'level of information' provided by the Iraqi embassy was 'not sufficient for me to find that the appellant would be likely to secure identity documentation'. Judge Pinder concluded: 'Thus, I am satisfied that the appellant is reasonably unlikely to secure an Iraqi identity document, whether in the UK or on arrival in the IKR, which would permit him to enter the IKR and to travel internally without subjecting him to treatment, contrary to Article 3 ECHR.' Judge Pinder has made controversial rulings including allowing a Zimbabwean paedophile to stay in Britain because he would face 'hostility' in his home country. She was also one of two judges to declare that a Sudanese asylum seeker was a child despite the Home Office saying he was at least 23 with a receding hairline.
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Channel migrant dinghy tragedy ‘entirely predictable', inquiry hears
An inquiry into the biggest ever loss of life in a migrant dinghy in the Channel has heard that it was 'entirely predictable' that a catastrophic event involving mass casualties would occur. On Monday the Cranston inquiry began hearing evidence into the drownings of at least 27 people on 24 November 2021 in the narrow stretch of water separating the UK from France. The inquiry heard that the boat, thought to be carrying 33 people, including 13 women and eight children, was 'wholly unsuitable'. Along with the 27 confirmed dead, four people remain missing, while two survived. The dinghy, named Charlie by rescue services, was one of 209 boats that made the crossing in November 2021, the highest number recorded in a single month. Although in the years following the mass drowning at least 128 more migrants have lost their lives in the Channel, according to the UN's International Organisation for Migration, the November 2021 incident remains the largest single loss of life since migrant crossings of the Channel in small boats began in 2018. The inquiry has been told about a litany of failings, including poor communication and understaffing, at the Dover coastguard on the night and a failure of Home Office intelligence sharing relating to the stricken dinghy. It emerged that Charlie was confused by authorities with another dinghy named Lima, which 35 people were successfully rescued from. Rory Phillips KC, counsel to the inquiry, said: 'No one in the UK was looking for Charlie and no one came to their rescue.' Instead 'incident Charlie' was marked as resolved and closed. Prior to the incident the Maritime and Coastguard Agency had flagged on its corporate risk register that it may become overwhelmed, resulting in loss of life. A request for more staff did not bear fruit, the inquiry heard. The boat left the French coast around 10pm on the night of 23 November 2021. About three hours later it started taking in water. The passengers began making panicked calls. In what is described as a 'harrowing' call at around 1.30am, 16-year old Iraqi Kurd Mubin Rizghar Hussein told the coastguard that everyone was in the water and 'everything will be finished'. At 2.30am he made another desperate call once again raising the alarm. He said the passengers were finished and would die. He was asked by the coastguard to stop calling. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion By 3.06am the boat was sinking and the last distress call was made at 3.11am. Sonali Naik KC, counsel for survivor Issa Mohamed Omar and some of the bereaved relatives, told the inquiry that due to the multiple failings on the night of the mass drowning, including poor communication and understaffing, the entirely predictable, catastrophic event occurred. Omar said he felt part of the reason he survived was to be a voice for those who lost their lives. Naik said that as early as September 2020 a lack of resources to rescue migrants in dinghies in distress had been flagged. 'It was only a matter of time before authorities would have to deal with so called 'non-survivors',' she said. The inquiry continues.
