Faizal Akbar: a false Afghan identity passed through asylum and welfare systems

Pakistani national Faizal Akbar entered Ireland under a false Afghan identity, obtained international protection in that identity, used a false Afghan passport and received €43,715 through the resulting account. The deception ended only after he disclosed his true identity to his bank. The final two-year sentence was suspended in full.

A false nationality at the entry point

Akbar was reported as a Pakistani national. He came to Ireland in 2008, claimed to be Afghan under a different name and successfully obtained international protection in that false identity.

The false name was not published in the court reports reviewed. It is therefore not reproduced or guessed here.

Reporting from the District Court stage said he used an ML10 form to have the false identity confirmed for a bank account. The false record was not confined to one application: it became the identity through which later banking, passport, travel and welfare transactions were conducted.

The false passport and the payment trail

In 2013, Akbar presented a false Afghan passport to the Department of Social Protection. The court heard that he then received €43,715 in payments through 2019.

The same passport enabled him to leave Ireland several times and travel to Pakistan to visit his wife and children. That travel was inconsistent with the Afghan nationality represented by the document, but the published account does not say that it triggered the investigation.

The final sentencing report said that, in 2023, Akbar learned he was eligible for the same payment in his genuine identity and began receiving it lawfully under his real name. That finding matters when measuring the public cost: the method and identity were fraudulent, but the full €43,715 was not established as a net benefit loss to the State.

The bank referral exposed the identity

The false Afghan passport eventually expired. Akbar told his bank that the identity documents were false because he needed genuine documentation to travel to Pakistan and visit an ill relative. The bank referred the matter to Gardaí.

Akbar later surrendered his genuine Pakistani passport. Judge John King observed at the District Court stage that the disclosure came after more than a decade and was motivated by concern that his family might not be told if he died under the false identity, rather than by remorse.

The chain raises a narrow control question: a false nationality and identity remained usable across protection, bank-account, passport, travel and welfare processes until the holder disclosed the mismatch to a private bank.

From District Court to final sentence

Akbar was charged in January 2025 with 12 theft counts and unlawful use of two false documents over the period from 2008 to 2019. The Director of Public Prosecutions initially allowed summary disposal if he pleaded guilty.

On 19 February 2025, Judge King refused District Court jurisdiction because of the seriousness of the facts and sent the case forward to the Circuit Court. Akbar later pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to stealing the payments on dates between 2010 and 2019.

On 3 July 2025, Judge Orla Crowe imposed a two-year sentence suspended in full for four years on Akbar’s own recognisance. The court took account of the unusual entitlement position, his lack of previous convictions, his living circumstances and the absence of signs of wealth.

Status: what the record does and does not establish

The record establishes that Akbar is Pakistani, that the Afghan identity was false and that international protection had been granted under that false identity.

The sources reviewed do not state his current protection or residence status. They do not report that he became an Irish citizen, that protection or permission was revoked, or that a deportation order or removal process followed the conviction. None of those outcomes is inferred here.

The court heard that Akbar wished to bring his wife and three sons from Pakistan to Ireland. That statement of intention is not evidence that an application for family reunification was made or approved.

Chronology

• 2008: Akbar arrives from Pakistan, claims an unpublished false Afghan identity and obtains international protection in that identity.
• After arrival: an ML10 identity form is used to open a bank account under the false details.
• 2010–2019: period covered by Akbar’s guilty plea to stealing social-welfare payments.
• 2013: he presents a false Afghan passport to the Department of Social Protection.
• By 2019: €43,715 has been routed through the account; the false passport has also been used for several trips to Pakistan.
• After the passport expires: Akbar discloses his true identity to his bank; the bank alerts Gardaí.
• 2023: the court was told he learns he is eligible for the payment in his genuine identity and begins receiving it under his real name.
• January 2025: Akbar is charged with theft and false-document offences.
• 19 February 2025: Dublin District Court refuses jurisdiction and sends the case forward for trial on indictment.
• 3 July 2025: Dublin Circuit Criminal Court imposes a two-year sentence, suspended in full for four years.

Taxpayer-cost boundary

The documented gross figure is €43,715: the amount paid through the account attached to the false identity. It is not presented here as proven net taxpayer loss because the sentencing court was told that Akbar was eligible for the benefit in his genuine identity.

The false identity still imposed public work across protection administration, social-welfare control, Garda investigation, prosecution and the courts. Akbar also received criminal legal aid at the District Court stage. No case-specific cost was published for any of those processes.

Because the two-year prison term was suspended in full, this file assigns no custody-cost benchmark. It also does not claim a repayment or restitution order, because none was reported in the sources reviewed.

Sources

• BreakingNews.ie, 3 July 2025 — final sentence, benefit-entitlement evidence, prior-record position and mitigation.
• BreakingNews.ie, 19 February 2025 — false protection identity, initial charges, District Court evidence and refusal of jurisdiction.
• Gript, 27 June 2025 — Circuit Court sentencing-hearing account and bank referral details.
• Passports Act 2008, section 20 — statutory context for false-passport possession and use.
• Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, section 29 — statutory context for false instruments.
• Department of Social Protection: Types of Welfare Fraud — official classification of identity fraud as a control risk.
• Department of Social Protection anti-fraud reports and strategy — official control framework and annual reporting.

Record checked: 31 July 2026. No later immigration, citizenship, revocation, deportation or family-reunification outcome was located.