The Angel Group have already been exposed by the local press in Leeds for accommodating refugees in 'squalid conditions' reportedly without gas or hot water.

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/birmingham/2005/06/314246.html

A new investigation by the Home Office is investigating claims of financial irregularities including fraud. This has been prompted by inquiries by the Guardian newspaper, focusing on claims that the London-based Angel Group charged the Home Office and Leeds City Council for the same properties.

From the Guardian article:

'Company records, internal emails and testimony from former Angel employees also suggest the company was paid for accommodation that was unfit for habitation or for which it had no keys. Records further suggest Angel claimed discounts on council tax to which it was not entitled in Leeds and Newcastle upon Tyne.'

'Based in Docklands in London, Angel has had contracts with Nass for five years, mainly in Yorkshire and the north-east. Income from its houses, flats and hostels largely contributes to a turnover of around £20m a year. It was awarded a new contract in May for up to 15 months.'

'The group, with more than 50 subsidiaries, is 100% owned by 48-year-old Julia Davey. In 2003 she paid herself a salary of £458,000 as well as collecting nearly £1m in dividends.'

'The allegations are that:

· For seven months last year Angel Group double-booked properties by renting out the same houses to both Leeds city council for the homeless and Nass

· The company claimed council tax relief on the basis that properties were unoccupied - even though they were available on the Nass register and technically available for asylum seekers

· Angel received payments from Nass for properties in Newcastle which it later found to be uninhabitable or for which it had no keys. Angel staff referred to these as "ghost properties".'

'Inquiry into firm's asylum contracts' Wednesday August 3, 2005
 http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,1541406,00.html