Man who posed as Nigerian prince jailed for 7 years in the UK over immigration scam

A conman who posed as a Nigerian prince in high society while masterminding massive
immigration scam has been jailed for 7 years in the UK. The man who called himsel f His Royal
Highness Prince Yilkyes Bala Finok Tonglele PhD State Crown Prince’ was found guilty of using false and
stolen IDs to help over 100 people to get into the UK. Find the full reports from UK Daily Mail UK
below...
Posing as a member of the Nigerian Royal family, he mingled with diplomats, captains of industry
and senior police officers.
D r Yilkyes Bala was chauffeur-driven in a black Bentley and hosted sumptuous dinners at the
Dorchester to mix with society’s elite. But the supposedly flourishing businessman was in fact a
criminal mastermind responsible for an ambitious immigration racket.

Investigators believe he helped more than 100 of his countrymen, including most of his extended family, to

enter the UK illegally under false and stolen identities.

At the centre of the scam was a corrupt Home Office worker who sold him genuine, but improperly issued,

refugee passports for £1,500 each.

Bala then used his network of security companies to give the illegal immigrants references and jobs.

They could then ‘hit the jackpot’ and obtain a National Insurance number, giving them full citizen’s rights and

access to State benefits.

But the racket, which continued for up to 16 years, unravelled when the Home Office employee was caught

out.

This week Bala, 55, was starting a seven year jail sentence from August 1st, after a jury convicted him of

conspiring to breach immigration laws.

A judge at Canterbury Crown Court said the charming fraudster was 'at the hub' of a 'significant

conspiracy' to beat UK border security.

The conviction is an embarrassment for those who mixed with Bala, including the

Nigerian Ambassador and senior officers at City of London Police.

The charming conman referred to himself as ‘His Royal Highness Prince Yilkyes Bala Finok Tonglele PhD

State Crown Prince’.

He even carried an identity card claiming to be ‘prince of princes’ in the Nigerian Plateau State Council of

Chiefs.

Investigators found he did not inherit the honour, but he claimed it was bestowed on him later in life, and

they have been unable to disprove this.