24-05-2025
Bulgarian gang charged £800 for illegal UK benefits ‘pack'
A gang charged Bulgarians more than £800 for a pack of fraudulent documents that would allow them to claim benefits in the UK, a court heard.
Galina Nikolova, 39, was jailed in May 2024 after she and others 'systematically plundered' the UK's welfare system and stole at least £50 million of taxpayer money.
Now, new details have emerged about the inner workings of her operation as prosecutors try to recoup some of the gang's fortune before they are deported to Bulgaria.
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 Wood Green Crown court.
The gang operated by creating 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.
At a hearing at Wood Green Crown court this week, details emerged about how much Nikolova charged and how many customers she had.
The court heard that she charged £830 for a 'full pack' of fraudulent documents, which she would then submit to the Department for Work and Pension on her customers' behalf.
She charged £80 for a National Insurance document and £60 for false tenancy documents. She also offered to provide fake job references and GP letters.
The court heard she was involved in at least 2,000 false claims, but the true number is believed to be far higher.
Defending Nikolova, Simon Farrell KC, said his client had around £1 million in available assets and did not have any funds hidden away.
He said that since being jailed she had been cooperating with authorities including revealing details of properties she owned in Bulgaria.
Pleading for deportation
Nikolova is desperate for the confiscation proceedings to end so that she can be deported.
Despite being sentenced to eight years in prison last year, she became eligible for deportation only five months later in October under the government's early removal scheme.
Were it not for the ongoing proceedings she would already have been sent home where it is understood she will be free and not forced to serve the remainder of her sentence.
Judge David Aaronberg KC said he was 'very conscious of the fact she is desperate to get back to Bulgaria and to her children'.
At a previous hearing he expressed surprise that she would be released so soon into her sentence.
He said that Nikolova had been jailed for a 'vast fraud' which she was 'substantially involved in'.
Attempting to recover £4m
Stoyanov, Nikolova's partner, who attended the hearing, has been released from prison on licence and is also waiting for the confiscation case to finish so he can be deported.
He told the Telegraph all he and his partner wanted was to go home and 'live a normal life'.
Since the gang was sentenced, confiscation proceedings have been ongoing, as prosecutors try to recover some of the millions stolen.
So far only around £1 million has been recouped. The majority of the money is believed to be with people living in Bulgaria.
Prosecutors were initially trying to recover around £40 million from Nikolova, but that amount has been reduced and they are now understood to be seeking around £4 million.
The exact amount each defendant will be ordered to repay will be decided at a hearing this summer.
