Pimlico fraudster ordered to repay £494k for illegal subletting
Saeed Yasin Hosseini obtained a Westminster council flat under false pretences and later bought it through the Right to Buy scheme.
Incident → evidence → outcomeSaeed Yasin Hosseini has been ordered to repay £494,415.52 after illegally subletting a council flat in Pimlico. The confiscation order was secured at Southwark Crown Court on August 12. Hosseini obtained the Page Street property from Westminster City Council in 2011 by claiming he was a single man living in temporary accommodation. In reality, he and his wife were residing in a property owned by her in North London.
Right to Buy and subletting
Hosseini went on to sublet the flat for a year between 2013 and 2014. He later purchased the property under the Right to Buy scheme, claiming it was his main address and receiving a discount of £100,000 on the sale. The council's Anti-Fraud service initiated Proceeds of Crime proceedings against him.
Guilty pleas and suspended sentence
In September 2024, Hosseini pleaded guilty to charges related to dispersing monies from seven bank and credit card accounts, in breach of a restraint order issued in 2020. He was also given a one-year suspended sentence for contempt of court. Councillor Caroline Sargent, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Enforcement, commended the council's Anti-Fraud service for their work in securing the prosecution.
“This is a truly shocking case of someone deliberately and repeatedly cheating the system for their own personal gain.”
Councillor Sargent stated that council accommodation is a vital resource for those genuinely in need. She added that Hosseini had gone to great lengths to defraud council resources and taxpayers' money, while also ignoring previous court orders. She expressed hope that the penalties would deter others from abusing the system.
Questions this report answers
01How much does Saeed Yasin Hosseini have to repay?
Saeed Yasin Hosseini has been ordered to repay £494,415.52. This confiscation order was secured at Southwark Crown Court on August 12 following his conviction for fraud related to a council flat in Pimlico.
02How did Saeed Yasin Hosseini obtain the council flat?
Hosseini obtained the flat in 2011 by falsely claiming he was single and living in temporary accommodation. He was actually living with his wife in a property she owned in North London at the time.
03What else did Saeed Yasin Hosseini do with the flat?
After obtaining the flat under false pretences, Hosseini illegally sublet it for a year between 2013 and 2014. He later purchased the property himself under the Right to Buy scheme, receiving a discount.
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