Foreign
UK care firm charged workers from Africa thousands more than cost of visa
Care workers from Zimbabwe were told to pay the sums to Gloriavd Health Care Ltd in return for arranging social care jobs in and around Leeds and Bath.
They also claimed they were given far less paid work than they had been led to expect, were housed in overcrowded rooms and faced a threat that their conduct could be reported to the Home Office, leading them to fear deportation if they complained.
One woman alleged she sold her home in rural South Africa to pay £6,500 in fees to the company operated by Gloria Van Dunem only to find she and her colleagues had so little work they had to rely on food banks.
“She took all that I had,” said Winnet Mushaninga, 40, a qualified care worker from Zimbabwe who has been living near Durban. “The trauma and suffering was too much. We paid a lot of money. It’s just painful.”
The allegations come after the Home Office added care workers to the UK’s shortage occupation list in 2022 to help fill 165,000 vacancies in care homes and domiciliary care. There has been rising concern about the exploitation of the immigration route by some social care and employment agencies.
Mushaninga told the Guardian she was recruited directly from Africa by Gloriavd and understood the fee would cover the cost of the visa and the certificate of sponsorship as well as two months’ accommodation and access to a full-time job. The Guardian has seen evidence of bank transfers on her behalf to the company’s bank account totalling £5,500.
But on arrival in Britain last April, Mushaninga alleged she had to live squeezed four to a room with mattresses on the floor, earned just £20 a day, and ended up feeding herself from a church food bank.
The Home Office charges no more than £551 for a visa for care workers and the cost of a sponsor licence for a small company to bring in foreign care workers is £536.
Gloriavd Health Care Ltd was set up by Gloria Van Dunem in 2020 and is registered with the Care Quality Commission, which rates it as “requires improvement”. The NHS Integrated Care Board in Leeds said it has awarded the firm two consecutive contracts making it an approved provider to deliver care in people’s homes.
Mushaninga is among several care workers in Yorkshire being supported by the Leeds branch of Acorn, a community union that is running a Carers Fight Back campaign “not only to win back justice, compensation and job security for our members that have worked for Gloriavd, but for every worker across the UK that is experiencing this injustice,” said Rohan Prasad-Weitz, branch secretary.
Van Dunem’s lawyer told the Guardian “she did not accept money from care workers in exchange for facilitating their relocation to the UK”.
“No money was taken by our client for the immigration skill charge and for assigning certificates of sponsorship from the employees,” the lawyer said, adding they had seen evidence that the matters put to their client were “wholly inaccurate” and lacked “any basis in truth”.
In correspondence seen by the Guardian, Van Dunem apparently told another worker she needed to pay £2,900 and she required no less than half of that “before we would be able to issue the sponsorship visa, the official job offer and all other supporting documentation”.
An offer of employment letter from Van Dunem, also seen by the Guardian, said “you will be working 39.0 a week and salary will be £20,480 gross per annum … Accommodation and maintenance will be provided”.
Mushaninga alleged that on arrival, she found she was only allocated two hours of paid work a day over four 30-minute visits spread out from 7am to 8.30pm – no more than £100 a week.
She claims that she and her fellow care workers would wait for hours for their next appointments in parks and bus stations.
On occasion they got soaked in the rain. They didn’t have a car so travelled by bus between appointments. “We ended up going to food banks”.
Shelly Roe, the granddaughter of another client, told the Guardian “there were quite a few red flags” about the care workers the agency sent out to her grandfather’s home in a Leeds suburb.
“They were walking,” she recalled. “They said they had driving licences but they didn’t drive. They were catching buses. But they were polite, well-trusted and very good.”
Mushaninga said she challenged Van Dunem about the quality of the accommodation saying it was not appropriate for adult living. But “she would say: ‘I will just call the Home Office and they will deport you back home.’ She knew I had nowhere to stay back home, so she knew I would keep quiet.”
A WhatsApp message to workers from Van Dunem’s number seen by the Guardian stated: “As per Monday, Gloriavd will be starting reporting to the home office every activity for all workers. I will [be] reporting shift cancel, working for another company …holidays, absence, not attending training, company trying to reach out for work not responding, refusing to assign documents such as tenancy agreements”.
The range of issues appears to extend beyond what the Home Office tells visa sponsors they need to report. Guidance lists reporting duties including when a worker is absent without permission for more than 10 consecutive working days or is absent without pay or on reduced pay for more than four weeks in a year. It says the Home Office does not need to know if a sponsored worker temporarily leaves the UK, for example, on holiday.
Van Dunem’s lawyer said: “Our client being a sponsor licensee has record-keeping and reporting duties,” and “matters such as working for another company, holidays, absences, and unauthorised absences are within the purview of reporting duties under certain circumstances.”
“In some instances, employers may report their sponsored migrant’s circumstances to the Home Office as part of best practice,” the lawyer said and that “should not be construed as a threat of deportation”.
Another Zimbabwean, Benedict Musavengan, 36, told the Guardian he came to work for Gloriavd in January 2023 after paying £1,700 in fees. He said he was assigned only a few hours and was accommodated four to a room in a flat above a takeaway in Beeston, which didn’t have heating.
He was not able to provide documentary evidence for his claims, but said: “It was so, so cold. There was no cooking stove. There was no washing machine. There was no work for us.”
“The way she treated me hurt me a lot,” he said. “It put me in a bad place. My family was expecting me to send something to them. I have a wife and kids … My hope was to work for five years, create something back home so I could sustain myself and my family.”
The parents of a Nigerian student convicted of robbery and blackmail in the United Kingdom have appealed to the authorities to review the verdict, insisting that their son was wrongly convicted and is innocent of all the charges against him.
Mr Aderinkola Akinrinola and Mrs Olayinka Akinrinola made the appeal in a statement released in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, following the conviction of their son, Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, by a UK court on June 19, 2026.
He is currently being held in a prison in Nottingham pending his sentencing, scheduled for July 27.
The distraught parents alleged that the conviction was based largely on circumstantial evidence and their son’s association with the principal suspect in the case.
They explained that their son met Richile Vagnu shortly after resuming his studies as a first-year student at Leicester University in September 2025, describing their relationship as that of acquaintances rather than close associates.
“Our son was present at the party where the incident took place, but he was never involved in the robbery,” the parents said.
They claimed that some of the victims testified in court that Oluwatobiloba was not among those who robbed them and that he only briefly entered the room where the incident occurred, asked what was happening and left after making it clear that he did not want to be involved.
The parents further stated that investigators found evidence of money transfers made by victims to accounts linked to other suspects, but found no such transactions in their son’s bank records.
They also alleged that CCTV footage presented during the trial did not place their son at the scene of the alleged robbery, apart from showing him arriving at the party.
According to them, the police were unable to produce some of the suspects in court because they allegedly failed to honour police invitations.
The family further claimed that one of the victims testified that Oluwatobiloba appeared to be trying to assist those affected rather than participating in the crime.
They disclosed that shortly after the incident, their son came across a social media video that allegedly linked him to the attack.
Concerned by the allegations, he reportedly contacted the police voluntarily and offered to present himself for questioning.
According to the parents, officers informed him at the time that he was not considered a suspect.
Describing their son as a calm and sociable young man with no previous criminal record, the couple appealed to the UK authorities to re-examine the case.
They also called on relevant authorities, legal institutions and human rights organisations to look into the circumstances surrounding the conviction and ensure that justice is served.
The statement read in part, “Our son, Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, was wrongfully convicted of robbery and blackmail. We are Mr Aderinkola Akinrinola and Mrs Olayinka Akinrinola, parents of Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, who was wrongfully convicted of robbery and blackmail by the UK government on June 19, 2026. He has been remanded in Nottingham Prison pending sentencing on July 27, 2026.
“Our son is innocent of the charges against him. The police argument against him is that he is guilty by association with the prime suspect. The only evidence presented in court against our son is a picture he took with Richile Vagnu, the prime suspect, and CCTV footage showing him entering the venue of the party where the robbery took place on November 21, 2025. Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola met Richile Vagnu in October after resuming school in September as a fresher at Leicester University. They were, at best, acquaintances.
The parents’ statement added, “While our son was present at the party where the robbery took place, he was never part of the robbery. Some of the victims also confirmed this in court. As recorded in his statement, he briefly entered the room where the robbery was taking place, questioned the prime suspect about what was happening and then left, insisting that he did not want to be part of it.
“The robbery victims said they were robbed of their jackets and footwear, and none of the items was found in our son’s possession after police searched his apartment. The police said they found evidence that money was transferred by the victims to the accounts of the other suspects, Vagnu and Ayomide Ibraheem, but no such evidence was found in our son’s bank records.
“The court insists our son is guilty but allowed other suspects to go scot-free, including Ayomide Ibraheem, whom victims identified as the person preventing them from leaving the room during the robbery. In all the CCTV footage played by the police in court, our son did not appear at the scene of the crime. He was only seen entering the party. The police also failed to produce the other suspects in court, despite allegations that they received money from the victims. The police said they did not honour invitations.
“Victims testified that our son was not involved. In fact, one of the victims said he was trying to help them. A few days after the robbery incident, our son saw a misleading video online posted by a TikTok influencer linking him to the attack. He immediately contacted the police and told them he was willing to come in for questioning because he was not involved in the robbery. The police told him not to bother because he was not a suspect.
“Our son is a calm and sociable young man who has never been linked to any criminal activity before now. Please help us. We are devastated. We simply want the world to hear our side of the story. Our son is about to suffer for a crime he did not commit. His life is about to be destroyed for something he did not do. We want the UK government to review the case and ensure that justice is done.”
Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, made the remarks in a post on his X handle on Wednesday.
His reaction followed the Senate’s approval of the bill which seeks to decentralise policing by allowing states to establish their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force.
Moore, who has previously spoken on attacks against Christians in Nigeria, said the reform was one he had advocated publicly and privately.
“I’m encouraged to see Nigeria’s Senate approve legislation to establish state-level police forces—a reform I’ve called for publicly and privately since I first started investigating the genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
“I can’t stress how critical this law that will empower states to protect their own citizens and reducing dependence on decision makers in Abuja is to the effort to defend persecuted Christians and address insecurity,” he wrote.
“President Tinubu deserves credit for pushing it forward, but now we need 2/3rds of the states to ratify before it will take effect,” he added.
PUNCH Online reports that the Senate on Wednesday passed the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police across the federation after more than two-thirds of senators voted in support during a manual voting process.
The proposed legislation seeks to establish a state policing framework operating concurrently with the federal police system, empowering governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by their state Houses of Assembly.
The bill also includes safeguards against abuse, providing that state police cannot be deployed against individuals or groups merely for criticising a state government except in accordance with the law. It will only become part of the Constitution after securing the required approvals from state legislatures and completing other constitutional processes.
The department stated that Akintola was taken into custody immediately after her plea and sentencing hearing before Magistrate Judge Kate Vaughan.
The statement noted that at the sentencing hearing, Vaughan condemned the offence, saying she was struck by the fact that Akintola had targeted a vulnerable victim.
It noted that court records showed that Akintola became a social worker for the Snoqualmie Tribe in January 2023 and later applied to become the Social Security Representative Payee for a minor child under the tribe’s care.
The statement added that the child’s mother had died, leaving survivor benefits for the child with a prohibition for social workers from serving as representative payees for children under the tribe’s care.
The statement noted that despite the prohibition, prosecutors said Akintola used the child’s Social Security number and her information to secure the appointment and redirected the benefits into a bank account she controlled.
The attorney’s office stated that she spent the funds on personal expenses, including purchases at a retailer in North Bend, Washington.
The statement read in part, “In September 2023, Akintola applied by telephone to be the Social Security representative payee for a minor child with intellectual disabilities who was a ward of the tribe.
“The Tribe prohibits its social workers from becoming a representative payee for any child under its care. Nevertheless, Akintola used the child’s Social Security number and her own to apply to be the minor child’s representative payee.”
The US noted that the theft was uncovered in July 2024 when Akintola accompanied her supervisor to the Social Security Administration to inquire about the child’s missing benefits.
The department further disclosed that Akintola failed to appear for an earlier plea and sentencing hearing scheduled for May 22, 2026.
The statement added, “Prosecutors learnt she had left the U.S. on May 20, 2026, and travelled to Togo in West Africa using a passport issued in a different last name.
“Akintola appeared for the plea and sentencing hearing yesterday (July 15), and Judge Vaughan ultimately ordered her into custody to begin serving the sentence immediately.”
The statement noted that a representative of the Snoqualmie Tribe told the court that Akintola had abused the trust reposed in her as a social worker and exploited a grieving child for financial gain.
It added that the representative said the stolen funds were intended to support the child’s future independence and well-being and that the victim was an autistic child who depended on the benefits for support following the death of the mother.
“In our profession, a social worker is meant to be a safekeeper. A protector for children who have been stripped of their safety, family, and stability.
“Ms Akintola did not just fail in that duty; she weaponised her position of power to systematically steal from a grieving, autistic child. This money was not a luxury. It was a lifeline.”
The attorney’s office said Akintola was ordered to pay $17,638 in restitution to the Social Security Administration.
She was also barred from ever serving as a Social Security representative payee in the future.
Foreign
Putin ‘shuts down CCTV protecting him’ fearing assassination after Iran’s Ayatollah tracked via cameras and killed
The paranoid Russian tyrant is said to be shaking in his boots after the US and Israel used AI camera hacking to hunt down and kill Iran‘s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Putin is paranoid that his security cameras could be used against him.
It comes after the precise strike that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader on February 28.
The sophisticated operation has sparked fears in Russia that similar technology could be used to track top officials – or the despot himself.
The move underscores mounting Kremlin fears that widespread surveillance cameras could be used against Moscow – given the new powers of AI.
Israeli intelligence are reportedly harvesting huge amounts of data scraped from Tehran’s traffic camera network.
Putin’s surveillance system has since been turned back on – but was only reinstated after engineers tried to break it off from the internet, the Financial Times reported.
The Kremlin is terrified that its sprawling surveillance system could be turned against the regimeCredit: East2West
Israel are understood to be analysing these millions of hours of video using AI-powered software.
Methods like these were reportedly used in the operation to assassinate Ayatollah Khamenei on February 28.
Terrified Russian security chiefs are now warning that the sprawling system of surveillance cameras around the country could be harnessed against them.
Head of Russia’s FSB security service Alexander Bortnikov warned that the deaths of senior Iranian figures should serve as a “clear warning sign” about the vulnerabilities of modern camera networks.
It comes amid the growing capabilities of AI – which can now track and flag certain types of behaviour rather than individual faces.
The technology has been described as the “holy grail of surveillance”, according to one European official who told the FT it lets security services to search for movements rather than simply objects or people.
Earlier this week, Putin ordered his two eldest daughters to move into his bunker palace with him.
Maria Vorontsova, 41, and Katerina Tikhonova, 39, have moved into Mad Vlad’s highly guarded forest palace complex.
The tyrant’s demand for his two daughters and three grandchildren to move in was revealed by a new investigation from We Can Explain.
It reported that Putin’s multi-millionaire daughter Maria and her two children moved to the Valdai palace complex.
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Katerina Tikhonova, 39, a rock n’ roll dancer, also moved in with her son.
The deranged dictator already shared the palace with his mistress Alina Kabaeva, 43, and their two sons, Ivan, 11, and Vladimir, six.
The Valdai complex is guarded by dozens of air defence systems making it one of the most secure locations in Russia.
Putin’s palace now has a total of 27 towers fitted with anti-aircraft systems, up from just seven two years ago.
A Nigerian-born Roman Catholic priest, Anthony Odiong, has been convicted by a jury in Texas, United States, for sexually assaulting women under his spiritual care, The Guardian reports.
Odiong, 57, was found guilty on one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault after a trial in Waco, Texas.
The jury, made up of eight women and four men, delivered its verdict after about two hours of deliberation on Friday.
The court heard testimony from two women who said Odiong used his role as a priest to manipulate and pressure them into sexual relationships.
He was accused of exploiting his position as a Catholic priest to pursue sexual relationships with women he was providing spiritual direction.
Odiong, who pleaded not guilty, could face life imprisonment on the first-degree charge when sentencing begins on Monday.
Prosecutors said the offences involved two women who testified in court that the priest abused his clerical authority during periods of emotional vulnerability.
One of the women, identified in court documents as Mary Doe, told the jury that Odiong began a sexual relationship with her while providing spiritual counselling during a difficult divorce.
She also testified that her son once walked in on her and Odiong during intercourse at her home.
Another woman, Jane Doe, testified that he pressured her into sexual acts under the guise of spiritual guidance.
The case followed a 2024 report by The Guardian, which first documented allegations of sexual misconduct and coercion against the priest during his ministry in Texas and Louisiana.
Prosecutors said that report prompted one of the victims to come forward to police with further allegations.
Investigators later gathered additional evidence, including DNA linked to a child fathered by Odiong during his time in Louisiana.
Odiong, a naturalised US citizen, was ordained in Nigeria in 1993 and later served in Catholic parishes in Texas and Louisiana.
Authorities said he was suspended from the ministry in 2019 following earlier allegations of misconduct.
His lawyers argued during the trial that the relationships were consensual, but prosecutors maintained that he abused his position of authority as a clergy member.
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