A UK-based Nigerian doctor, Dr. Kelvin Alaneme, has been accused of selling fake job opportunities to foreign nationals, particularly Nigerians, in an undercover investigation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The investigation revealed that Dr. Alaneme, a psychiatrist who had worked for the National Health Service, was the founder of CareerEdu, an agency based in Harlow, Essex, which claimed to provide relocation services to the UK.
According to the BBC report, CareerEdu described itself as a “launchpad for global opportunities catering to young Africans” and claimed to have 9,800 “happy clients.” However, the investigation revealed that Dr. Alaneme was involved in a sophisticated scam, selling fake job opportunities to desperate individuals seeking to relocate to the UK.
One of the victims, a Nigerian man named Praise, claimed he paid Dr. Alaneme over £10,000 ($13,000) for a job in the UK, only to discover that the job did not exist. Praise stated that he was told he would be working with a care company called Efficiency for Care, based in Clacton-on-Sea, but upon arrival, he found that the job was non-existent.
The BBC investigation found discrepancies in Efficiency for Care’s employment records, revealing that the company had employed, on average, 16 people in 2024 and 152 in 2025. However, a letter from the Home Office to the company showed that it had issued 1,234 Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers between March and May 2025
Dr. Alaneme was secretly filmed by the BBC, detailing an even more sophisticated scam involving sponsorship documents for non-existent jobs. He explained how to fabricate a payroll system to conceal the fact that the jobs were fake.
In response to the allegations, Dr. Alaneme “strenuously denied” that CareerEdu was involved in a scam, insisting that it was neither a recruitment agency nor a service that provided jobs for cash. He claimed that the money Praise paid was forwarded to a recruitment agent for transportation, accommodation, and training expenses.
Dr. Alaneme’s response has raised more questions than answers, and the UK authorities are likely to investigate the allegations further. The incident highlights the need for increased vigilance and scrutiny of agencies and individuals offering relocation services to the UK.
