In Britain, Ukrainian refugees were sent to live with potential and former criminals – The Independent

Sponsors of the British program “Homes for Ukraine” were sending refugees to live with people suspected of ties to criminal activity.

This is reported by The Independent.

Ukrainians were forced to work for the hosts and pay rent, and in the worst cases, they simply “disappeared,” sometimes whole families.

Among those whose applications were approved as host families to provide free rooms to Ukrainians fleeing the conflict were people suspected of serious and organized criminal activity.

According to one municipal official, Ukrainians were forced to work for the hosts and pay rent, and in the worst cases, they simply “disappeared,” sometimes whole families.

A vivid example: a married couple with a small child were sent to live with a convicted pedophile. Labour Party MP Alex Davies-Jones, Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence, stated that the shocking findings revealed in this publication raise serious concerns about the protection of guests and the vetting of hosts, and called for a full investigation.

The Independent also reports that:

• Municipal workers participating in this government program reported that refugees were forced to work on host farms and pay rent.
• One of them said that some sponsors agreed to take in young Ukrainian women solely “for the purpose of their sexual exploitation.”
• About a quarter of the qualifying city councils — 37 out of 150 — reported receiving warnings about safety concerns for host conditions, including child protection issues.
• At least eight participants were suspected of ties to the criminal underworld.
• One local official told researchers that one of the hosts had been tried for human trafficking.

Maris Stratulis, National Director of the British Association of Social Workers in England, said her organization had expressed concern about this program from the outset.

“For some individuals and families, this scheme has literally been a lifeline, a safe and positive experience,” she said. “For others, it has been an escape into ‘illusory’ safety — their rights and needs not being protected.”

Stratulis added that a lack of coordination between the government and local councils “has led to the loss of children and adults in the system and their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation.”

According to statistics obtained by The Independent, there have been at least 93 serious security breach warnings across the UK regarding sponsors applying to be hosts. Eight of these involved potential hosts with ties to serious and organized crime. Local councils also received 374 warnings of “adverse situations” from the government, which arise when the host fails a Home Office check.

In the London borough of Croydon, the council received a ministerial warning about the involvement of two separate sponsors in serious and organized crime. The case was quickly brushed aside.

A similar warning was received by Suffolk County Council. Ukrainian guests were offered immediate relocation to another home, but they refused and later found alternative accommodation with friends. Another warning about a sponsor’s ties to organized crime was received by Nottinghamshire County Council, leading to a “guest relocation.”

Sheffield City Council received three serious warnings: one sponsor was linked to serious and organized crime, another had requests for placement related to several commercial properties, and the third was overseas and offered to pay for Ukrainians to stay in a hotel room.

In the first case, the guests arrived in the UK, but their whereabouts were unknown. The council had to report them missing to the police, and eventually, they were found in privately rented accommodation in another city.

In a case that gained publicity in Northern Ireland, a couple with a small child lived with a convicted pedophile for several weeks before he was deemed unfit to be a host. Reportedly, a Home Office preliminary check found no issues with his past, and the family moved into a mobile home on his property and lived there until further checks were completed.

Refugees were also forced to work for hosts, for example, on farms in Northern Ireland, whose owners reportedly used the program specifically for these purposes.

Many participants told researchers that visas were issued to Ukrainian refugees before completing background checks for criminal records and legal issues, as well as living conditions. Then, when the checks were finally completed, they had to quickly find a new host, otherwise, the guests were unwilling to move out.

According to the government, more than 180,000 visas were issued to Ukrainian refugees under the sponsorship program.