Bulgarian at heart of Britain's biggest benefit fraud could be back home with children within months
A Bulgarian woman who was jailed for eight years for her role in the biggest benefit fraud ever uncovered in Britain could be sent home and reunited with her children within months, The Telegraph can reveal.
Galina Nikolova, 39, was sentenced in May 2024 after a gang 'systematically plundered' the UK's welfare system and stole at least £50 million of taxpayer money.
It has now emerged that despite the lengthy sentence, she became eligible for deportation only five months later in October under the early removal scheme and could be free by the summer.
This was partly a result of time served on remand while she awaited sentencing, but also because under government guidelines, foreign nationals become eligible for deportation 18 months before their earliest release date.
In Nikolova's case, that was halfway through her sentence. It is understood that when she returns to her home country, she will not be jailed by Bulgarian authorities.
The only reason Nikolova has not yet been deported is that the Department for Work and Pensions is still trying to recover some of the money she stole.
Until the confiscation hearings have concluded, Nikolova cannot be sent back.
Prosecutors have been urged to be 'realistic' about what they can expect to recover.
At a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court this week, Ruby Shrimpton, for Nikolova, confirmed that she became eligible for deportation in October and were it not for the confiscation proceedings, that would likely have already happened.
Judge David Aaronberg KC then asked whether Nikolova would serve the rest of her sentence in a Bulgarian prison when she was returned.
Ms Shrimpton replied that she understood she would 'be at liberty' and 'in a position to look after her children'.
The judge replied: 'I had anticipated she would be in custody for many years. It comes as something of a surprise to me that within a period of months, she may be in a position to be deported and reunited with her children.'
He said that Nikolova had been jailed for a 'vast fraud' which she was 'substantially involved in'.
Nikolova, 39, Tsvetka Todorova, 53, Gyunesh Ali, 34, Patritsia Paneva, 27, and Stoyan Stoyanov, 28, were jailed for a combined 25 years in May last year at the Wood Green court.
The gang made false benefits claims for Universal Credit with an array of forged documents that used the identities of real people, who were living in Bulgaria, complicit in the scheme and received a share of the money. They claimed the people were living and working in the UK and were therefore entitled to benefits.
So far, just £1 million of the gang's haul has been recovered. The majority of the money is believed to be with people living in Bulgaria.
The scheme was only uncovered after a lone Bulgarian police officer told British authorities that his home city of Sliven had suddenly become awash with cash and criminals who were 'living like barons'.
Stoyanov, Nikolova's partner, has been released from prison on licence and is also waiting for the confiscation case to finish so he can be deported.
At a previous court hearing, he interrupted proceedings and demanded that he be sent home as he 'had a right to a normal life'.
Speaking via a translator, he said: 'Why is it my family, myself and my wife and our three children – all of whom have health issues – why should we all suffer? Don't we have the right to lead a normal life the way normal people do? Where is the fairness in that?'
Responding to the outburst, Judge Aaronberg said: 'The reality is you don't have the right to a completely normal life because you have been convicted of an extremely serious offence.'
A number of other key members of the gang are believed to still be at large in the UK.
Prosecutors previously said investigations into numerous other individuals were under way.
The DWP has refused to respond to multiple requests asking whether anyone else has been arrested or charged with any offences.
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In Blackpool, Hughes says locals endure 'absolute carnage' in periods that involve an influx of visitors drinking heavily, adding: 'There are certain things that are brought into the town because of the [tourist] season and the lively nightlife and alcohol, but we have our own homegrown problems that are generally rooted in poverty and a lack of options.' A spokesperson for Lancashire Constabulary said the force was working with the council and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and was running a dedicated campaign. Paula Burdess, Blackpool council's lead for community safety, said it was trying to take a 'proactive, public health-led approach to preventing and intervening in anti-social behaviour'. She said some areas of the town had seen a significant reduction in recorded incidents following increased police patrols, adding: 'We are working to ensure that our town centre remains a vibrant, secure, and enjoyable destination for residents, businesses, and visitors alike.' In the eight years he has been running his bicycle repair business near Cardiff Central railway station, Dave Hann has frequently found himself at the forefront of the Welsh capital's bike theft problem. Within months of opening Motörlegs Cycle Workshop, the 56-year-old's apprentice told him that he recognised one of the bikes being fixed – and it was not owned by the man who brought it in. The pair called the police and arranged for the true owner to be at the shop when the suspected thief returned, but he 'saw the police, turned on his heels and ran' before officers could arrest him,' Hann says. Sitting beneath dozens of bikes dangling from racks on the ceiling of the former Victorian coach house, he recalls a recent incident where a woman was paying for her son's bike to be fixed when it was swiped from directly outside the shop. The business sits on the edge of one of the two worst hotspots for bicycle theft in England and Wales. In the three years to September, more than 1,300 thefts were reported to police and locals believe the figure is a vast under-estimate. Of the recorded crimes, 98 per cent went unsolved. Cyclists who have had their bikes, or parts of them, stolen are frequent customers of Hann's. While he is speaking, a young woman walks in asking for Hann to check over her bike, which no longer works properly after being recovered from a thief. Other customers come in with their bikes missing wheels, or with broken chains and frames from where criminals have tried to physically break locks. 'It happens on an almost daily basis,' Hann says. 'Even if people use D-locks round the post, the thieves have got portable angle grinders now.' He believes there is a roaring trade in both stolen bicycles and parts, including wheels and saddles, which are being sold for cash by people with drug and alcohol abuse issues. Hann reports any crime he suspects to the police, but rarely gets a response. 'I think there is less enforcement than there used to be,' he says. 'I'm not blaming the police, I'm blaming austerity – they've got less resources and they've got to choose their battles. 'But some people don't have a car, and their bike is their only means of transport. It's despicable.' Nationally, fewer than one in 50 of the 60,000-plus annual bike thefts are ever solved. Vast areas of England and Wales did not see a single individual punished for such criminality last year. Back in Cardiff, grey and drizzly weather hasn't deterred numerous cyclists from whizzing along segregated lanes around the city centre, and pedalling through nearby Bute Park. In the busy Queen Street shopping area, broken D-locks and chains lie on the damp ground by empty bike racks, with the bicycles once attached to them long gone. Inside the nearby Bike Lock cafe, founder Tom Overton is well aware of the risks, having had his own bike stolen six times before starting the business two years ago. It offers secure storage for up to 50 bicycles, alongside showers and facilities for office workers and train commuters. 'We're giving people peace of mind,' the 52-year-old says. 'A lot of people who use us come in and say, 'I had a bike and I got it stolen a few weeks ago'.' Overton believes that bike theft will increase as Cardiff becomes more cycle-friendly, with the spread of segregated cycle lanes and infrastructure. 'More and more people are cycling, so theft is going up and up,' he adds. 'I think there's also more confidence among the criminals that they will get away with it, coupled with fear in people over making a citizens' arrest.' Overton only remembers reporting one of his six bike thefts to the police, and believes the official figures are a 'huge underestimate' of the problem. South Wales Police has been distributing advice on how to prevent theft by double-locking bikes, removing wheels and saddles, using secure parking and registering or marking bikes so they can be recovered. 'We share concerns about bike thefts in Cardiff and welcome proposals by Cardiff council to improve the availability and security of cycle parking across the city,' a spokesperson said. 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.
New York Post
16 hours ago
- New York Post
Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil can remain in detention, judge rules
The Trump administration can continue to hold anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil at the Louisiana detention facility where he's been locked up since March, a federal judge ruled Friday. Judge Michael Farbiarz had issued a preliminary injunction earlier this week barring the Trump administration from deporting the ex-Columbia University student and ordering his release. On Friday, however, the New Jersey judge determined that federal authorities can continue to hold Khalil on a separate alleged immigration violation discovered after his initial arrest. 3 Farbiarz previously ordered the Trump administration to release Khalil by Friday. Senate Judiciary Committee 'It would plainly be unlawful to detain [Khalil] on a charge the Court preliminarily enjoined,' Farbiarz wrote in his order. 'But by their letter of this afternoon … the [Trump administration] have now represented that [Khalil] is being detained on another, second charge.' 'That second charge has not been preliminary enjoined by the court.' Farbiarz noted that Khalil's legal team has not 'put forward factual evidence as to why it might be unlawful to detain him on the second charge' and 'failed to make meaningful legal arguments as to that second charge.' The second charge accuses Khalil of failing to disclose on his green card application that he was a member of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and the Columbia University Apartheid Divestment coalition, as well as his work for the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut. 'We are profoundly disappointed that Mahmoud has to bear any more delay and detention from this historically outrageous government conduct,' Baher Azmy, an attorney for Khalil, told Politico. 3 The Trump administration claims Khalil engaged in pro-Hamas activities at Columbia University and hid information about his background on his green card application. James Keivom 3 Khalil has been held in a Louisiana detention facility since March. REUTERS Farbiarz, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, noted that Khalil has 'a number of avenues' for release still available, including filing a bail application with the immigration judge handling his case. 'To the extent the Petitioner requests relief from this Court, the request is denied,' the judge wrote. On Wednesday, Farbiarz determined that it was 'overwhelmingly likely' that the alleged green card application was not the reason for his detainment, but rather Secretary of State Marco Rubio's initial decision to revoke his legal status over his role in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. The Trump administration claims Khalil engaged in activities 'aligned to Hamas,' the Palestinian terror group, while attending the Ivy League School.
