Man unable to get a job after criminal uses his identity
A 24-year-old German citizen has been unable to secure a job for years due to criminal records under his name, which were committed by another person in London.
Rami Battikh went on a short vacation in London in 2019. When he returned, he found out that his passport and German ID were missing or stolen, according to The Guardian.
Battikh, who is said to be a dual German Tunisian national, initially shrugged it off and decided to apply for a new ID card, and went to finish his vocational apprenticeship in Bonn, Germany. He soon received two job offers at Vodafone, where he did his apprenticeship, and the local tax office.
However, his excitement faded when the employer found out that there was a criminal record under his name in London.
According to the report, Battikh’s criminal records started in March 2021 when another man in London who illegally used his ID was jailed by local authorities for 18 months for several offenses. The man was put away for driving without a license or insurance, fraud by false representation, and possession of a false, improperly obtained identity document belonging to another person.
“I couldn’t believe it. I told my employers that it was not true that for sure it was not me, that I had proof I wasn’t in the UK at that time as I was in Tunisia [and] had stamps on my passport to prove it,” Battikh told the outlet. “But they just said they couldn’t just take my word over a police record,” he lamented.
Battikh raised the identity mix-up to the authorities which was picked up by a British judge. Judge Dodd tried to sort out the error in 2020 with the Metropolitan police, calling it a "mess."
The 24-year-old also made efforts to reach out to the Met last year but to no avail. Amid the mix-up, more crimes in London have been recorded under his name, including possession of a knife in a public place.
“I was in disbelief, I thought, what is wrong with the UK? They have already said I am not the criminal and my ID was stolen because the court confirmed this. But why can they not delete my name from the record? I was really upset,” he said.
He also wrote to retired judge Wood Green Crown Court in April 2024, offering DNA or fingerprints he had taken at a German police station for transfer by Interpol.
According to the report, Battikh, still unemployed, had to sell his car to cover his bills.
“This fraud destroys my life. I can’t get any jobs. Please, if you need I will give you my fingerprints, a hair strand… I can’t live like this any more. I am innocent and I never did any of those criminal acts I beg for help,” he wrote to the court.
For their part, the Met said that they are aware of the case and are continuously working with other agencies to rectify it.
“We understand that the length of time this has taken has added to the concern and upset, but aim to provide an update to the applicant in the near future,” it added.
