A RESPECTED Oxford businessman ran an asylum benefits scam which netted him and his family more than half a million pounds, a court heard this week.

Mohammed Faruq, 56, of Whitson Place, east Oxford, was at the centre of a conspiracy in which he and 15 of his relatives were convicted of fraud and immigration offences.

The case, which began with police raids in July 2004, ended on Tuesday when the final five defendants pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court.

Eleven of the defendants were sentenced following two trials held in Reading last year, but The Oxford Times could not report the case until the final five offenders pleaded guilty on Tuesday and a gagging court order was lifted.

Faruq, who owns 60 houses in Oxford as well as property in Pakistan and is believed to own assets worth between £24m and £25m, will also face compensation proceedings in June.

Jane Bewsey, prosecuting, said: "Mohammed Faruq orchestrated a criminal conspiracy, designed to bring into this country a number of close members of his family from Pakistan 11 adults and a large number of children. As a result of bringing in the extended family the conspiracy stood to gain £611,000."

She said all 11 adults claimed to be from Kashmir, apart from Rashida Begum, who pretended to be from Afghanistan.

She said Faruq, under the guise of Mair Property Services, was housing his relatives and charging Oxfordshire County Council £365 per night per room of "emergency asylum" accommodation.

Judge Bruce McIntyre said: "Mr Faruq has offered to repay £611,000 which had been the benefits obtained dishonestly in total as a result of your dishonesty and the dishonesty of others, and he will pay that as a result of confiscation proceedings pending. He also offered to pay the costs of the trial.

"There is no doubt that he is more than able to meet those costs.

"Secondly, I find it difficult to understand why any of you are still here given that one adult member of each of your families was refused permission to stay here as long ago as 2002."

After the court case, Det Chief Insp Rob Mason, of Thames Valley Police's major crime unit, said: "What is abundantly clear about Mr Faruq is that he was financially motivated. He will be more worried about the confiscation issues than any sentence upon him.

"Our investigations indicated that his assets are worth £24m to £25m."

Confiscations proceedings against Faruq are set to start in June.

More than 200 police, immigration and Home Office officers were involved in the investigation.

Mr Mason added: "It was put to the major crime unit because of the complexity of the investigation.

"Faruq's business was Mair Property services.

"He knew he was onto a good thing because he was the only one who provided emergency accommodation.

"The women were saying their spouses had been murdered and they had been raped by the Indian authorities, but they asked to be housed in a family unit."

The families were housed in twos, which meant Faruq was getting around £700 per house per night."

Immigration Minister Tony McNulty said: "We will now seek to recover any money owed to the Home Office and other organisations, and to remove those individuals who are here illegally."

Paul Warters, business manager for revenues and benefits at Oxford City Council, said: "Our benefit and fraud investigators worked closely with the officers from the Immigration Service from the onset of this investigation and later with Thames Valley Police.

"It has been a time-consuming investigation but the end result sends out an important message: that we will take action against people who fraudulently claim benefits."