BBC Undercover Exposé Unmasks UK-Based Immigration Scams Targeting African Jobseekers
A BBC undercover investigation has exposed the brazen tactics of UK-based recruitment agents scamming foreign nationals, particularly Africans, under the guise of offering jobs in the UK’s care sector.
Secretly recorded footage revealed agents, including a Nigerian doctor previously employed by the NHS, charging thousands of pounds for jobs that either don’t exist or violate UK immigration rules.
The investigation found that these agents exploit the UK’s Health and Care Work visa system, which was expanded in 2022 to address staffing shortages. Foreign candidates must secure a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from a licensed UK employer—documents which rogue agents have turned into lucrative commodities.
Dr Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian psychiatrist and founder of CareerEdu based in Essex, was filmed offering to pay undercover BBC reporters £2,000 per care home vacancy they helped secure, which he would then sell to Nigerian candidates for a fee—an illegal practice under UK law.
Despite claiming CareerEdu only provides legitimate services, Dr Alaneme was filmed discussing how to falsify payroll systems and fabricate job placements to fool UK authorities. One client, known as Praise, said he paid over £10,000 for a non-existent care job and was left stranded in Clacton-on-Sea.
The BBC also uncovered similar operations run by Ghanaian agent Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, who sold fake CoS documents and later shifted his scam to the construction sector. He charged up to £42,000 for three fake construction job sponsorships. He has since lost his sponsorship licence.
Both men deny any wrongdoing. Dr Alaneme insists fees were for training and logistics, not jobs. Agyemang-Prempeh claims he was deceived by other agents.
The UK Home Office, which has revoked over 470 care sector licences between July 2022 and December 2024, says it is cracking down on abuses of the visa system and plans new measures to curb illegal recruitment practices.
This investigation follows previous BBC reports of visa scams affecting Indian jobseekers and international students, as concerns grow about the exploitation of vulnerable foreign workers by unscrupulous middlemen.
