Bulgarian at heart of Britain’s biggest benefit fraud could be back home with children within months

A Bulgarian pistillate who was jailed for 8 years for her relation successful the biggest payment fraud ever uncovered successful Britain could beryllium sent location and reunited with her children wrong months, The Telegraph tin reveal.

Galina Nikolova, 39, was sentenced successful May 2024 aft a pack “systematically plundered” the UK’s payment strategy and stole astatine slightest £50 cardinal of payer money.

It has present emerged that contempt the lengthy sentence, she became eligible for deportation lone 5 months aboriginal successful October nether the aboriginal removal strategy and could beryllium escaped by the summer.

This was partially a effect of clip served connected remand portion she awaited sentencing, but besides due to the fact that nether authorities guidelines, overseas nationals go eligible for deportation 18 months earlier their earliest merchandise date.

In Nikolova’s case, that was halfway done her sentence. It is understood that erstwhile she returns to her location country, she volition not beryllium jailed by Bulgarian authorities.

The lone crushed Nikolova has not yet been deported is that the Department for Work and Pensions is inactive trying to retrieve immoderate of the wealth she stole.

Until the confiscation hearings person concluded, Nikolova cannot beryllium sent back.

Prosecutors person been urged to beryllium “realistic” astir what they tin expect to recover.

At a proceeding astatine Wood Green Crown Court this week, Ruby Shrimpton, for Nikolova, confirmed that she became eligible for deportation successful October and were it not for the confiscation proceedings, that would apt person already happened.

Judge David Aaronberg KC past asked whether Nikolova would service the remainder of her condemnation successful a Bulgarian situation erstwhile she was returned.

Ms Shrimpton replied that she understood she would “be astatine liberty” and “in a presumption to look aft her children”.

The justice replied: “I had anticipated she would beryllium successful custody for galore years. It comes arsenic thing of a astonishment to maine that wrong a play of months, she whitethorn beryllium successful a presumption to beryllium deported and reunited with her children.”

He said that Nikolova had been jailed for a “vast fraud” which she was “substantially progressive in”.

Nikolova, 39, Tsvetka Todorova, 53, Gyunesh Ali, 34, Patritsia Paneva, 27, and Stoyan Stoyanov, 28, were jailed for a combined 25 years successful May past twelvemonth astatine the Wood Green court.

The pack made mendacious benefits claims for Universal Credit with an array of forged documents that utilized the identities of existent people, who were surviving successful Bulgaria, complicit successful the strategy and received a stock of the money. They claimed the radical were surviving and moving successful the UK and were truthful entitled to benefits.

So far, conscionable £1 cardinal of the gang’s haul has been recovered. The bulk of the wealth is believed to beryllium with radical surviving successful Bulgaria.

The strategy was lone uncovered aft a lone Bulgarian constabulary serviceman told British authorities that his location metropolis of Sliven had abruptly go awash with currency and criminals who were “living similar barons”.

Stoyanov, Nikolova’s partner, has been released from situation connected licence and is besides waiting for the confiscation lawsuit to decorativeness truthful helium tin beryllium deported.

At a erstwhile tribunal hearing, helium interrupted proceedings and demanded that helium beryllium sent location arsenic helium “had a close to a mean life”.

Speaking via a translator, helium said: “Why is it my family, myself and my woman and our 3 children – each of whom person wellness issues – wherefore should we each suffer? Don’t we person the close to pb a mean beingness the mode mean radical do? Where is the fairness successful that?”

Responding to the outburst, Judge Aaronberg said: “The world is you don’t person the close to a wholly mean beingness due to the fact that you person been convicted of an highly superior offence.”

A fig of different cardinal members of the pack are believed to inactive beryllium astatine ample successful the UK.

Prosecutors antecedently said investigations into galore different individuals were nether way.

The DWP has refused to respond to aggregate requests asking whether anyone other has been arrested oregon charged with immoderate offences.

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