Pakistani man used fake Afghan passport for sham asylum claim and €43,000 welfare fraud

Tom Tuite

A Pakistani man used a bogus Afghan passport to trick Irish immigration authorities into granting asylum and stole €43,000 during a social welfare fraud, a court has heard.

Judge John King noted Faizal Akbar, 60, "confessed" his real identity more than a decade after coming to Ireland, not out of remorse but in case his family would never know if he died.

Mr Akbar of Benburb Street, Dublin 7, was charged in January with 12 counts of theft of various sums and unlawful use of two false documents, including an Afghan passport, between 2008 and 2019.

He appeared before Judge King at Dublin District Court on Wednesday.

The Director of Public Prosecutions directed summary disposal of Akbar's case in the District Court if he pleaded guilty.

Outlining the background, Garda Sergeant Derek Spain said the accused was from Pakistan but came to Ireland in 2008, and "he claimed to be an Afghan national with a certain name and went on to claim international protection status successfully."

The court heard he produced an ML10 form to have his sham identity confirmed by gardaí to open a bank account.

In 2013, he produced a false Afghan passport to the social welfare department, and until 2019, he received €43,715 in claims paid into his bank account.

The court heard it ended when he asked to change the name on his account, but the bank alerted gardai.

His defence solicitor, Eoghan O'Sullivan, told Judge King that his client was offering a plea of guilty subject to a jurisdiction decision.

The court heard that Akbar told Detective Garda Dave Chapman, the investigating officer, that he had decided to inform the authorities of his true identity.

However, he explained to the detective his reason for owning up was in case he died and that his family would not be aware of his death if he had passed away the fake identity.

"So what you are saying is that this man came into this country, presented a false identity, applied for asylum under that false identity, got asylum under that false identity, got social welfare under that false identity and opened a bank account under that false identity?" the judge queried.

The sergeant confirmed that was correct and that a false passport had been used.

The judge noted the guilty plea indication and the DPP's direction that it could be dealt with in the District Court on that basis.

However, he refused jurisdiction and held that it should be sent forward to the Circuit Court, with broader sentencing powers.

He remanded the accused on bail to appear again in April.

In January, the court heard he had surrendered his real Pakistani passport, and he had been granted legal aid because he was still on social welfare.