After being convicted of a fraud involving immigration advice, a man fled to Dubai; upon his return to the UK, he was jailed.
Following a two-year investigation by the OISC that revealed fees in excess of £2.5 million were produced, Babbar Ali Jamal, a director at DDR Legal Services LLP, was one of three individuals found guilty of giving incompetent immigration advice and/or services at the Old Bailey in April 2020.
Two of the offenders received sentences in the Old Bailey last year.
Directors get a £17,000 fine for providing unlicensed immigration advice, according to GOV.UK, but Mr. Jamal departed the country after being released on bail to appear in court, where he was given a £10,000 sentence.
After arriving in the UK from Dubai in June 2022, he turned himself in to the authorities.
Judge Munro QC stated the following at the initial sentencing in January 2021:
The complainants have suffered a significant and, in some cases, terrible consequential loss.
One victim was forced to leave the UK permanently, another had to pay £7,000 in costs to challenge a denial, others had to travel to Shanghai or Bangkok to submit applications that would inevitably be denied, and a couple who traveled for work was prevented from leaving the UK for two years while their paperwork was sorted out.
For failing to appear for his bail, Mr. Jamal was last week given a 20-week prison term at the Old Bailey along with an order to pay £500 in prosecution costs.
Judge Munro QC came to the conclusion that Mr. Jamal had seriously interfered with the administration of justice by fleeing.
He lived comfortably in Dubai with his family and made no attempt to pay the £10,000 punishment that was levied.
According to Commissioner of Immigration Services John Tuckett, Mr. Jamal completely disobeyed the law.
This is reflected in the statement, and I hope that reminding others who might otherwise take this course will be helpful.
After that, in 2019, Burlow and Spencer Ltd. stopped doing business.