Kamran Malik, a 59-year-old former mayoral candidate, has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for defrauding an elderly woman out of her life insurance payment and engaging in other fraudulent schemes. The Metropolitan Police arrested Malik in January 2022 at his home in east London, an event captured on footage released by the police. During his arrest, Malik, whose left hand was bandaged, claimed officers had the wrong person, identifying himself as an attorney.
Malik, through his firm KM Legal Ltd, posed as a solicitor and stole a £51,000 life insurance payment intended for Cydatty Bogie. This payment was a result of the death of Ms. Bogie's friend, Cynthia Smart, in 2017. The court heard that Malik also took over £12,000 in rent payments from Ms. Smart's flat and attempted to sell a pensioner's property worth £400,000 while posing as an attorney. He produced a document naming himself as a trustee for Derek Jeffery's home, which was still occupied by Mr. Jeffery, and put the property up for auction.
Despite denying the charges, Malik was convicted by a jury of six counts of fraud and one count of money laundering, with the offenses occurring between August 14, 2017, and November 12, 2020. Prosecutor Martin Hooper told the jury that Malik acted as a legal advisor who exploited vulnerable and elderly individuals, despite not being a qualified solicitor. Ms. Bogie had known Malik for several years and believed he was a solicitor working from an office, particularly after he arranged a deed of trust between her and Ms. Smart in August 2017. After Ms. Smart's death, Malik made a claim on the life insurance policy, diverting the funds to his company account instead of to Ms. Bogie. Ms. Bogie later committed suicide in March 2022.
During the sentencing, Judge Murray Shanks described Malik's business as a sham and stated that Malik had abused the trust placed in him by Ms. Bogie. Malik, who founded the Communities United Party, continued to advertise 'free legal advice' on social media even during his trial. He ran unsuccessfully in the Newham mayoral elections in 2024 and 2026. Campaign materials from his most recent run promised to address financial wastage and offered advice from 'highly trained personnel'. Videos on his social media platforms advertised services for issues such as deceased husband's estates and benefit fraud prevention.
Malik previously gained notoriety in 2016 when he attempted to sue Donald Trump for £10 million. The lawsuit stemmed from Trump's claims during his presidential campaign that parts of London were so radicalized that police feared for their lives. A High Court judge dismissed Malik's defamation claim against Trump in October 2016.
This is not Malik's first encounter with the law. In June 2018, he was jailed for a year for scamming migrants out of thousands of pounds for bogus immigration advice. He defrauded six vulnerable migrants of £16,000 between November 2014 and October 2016, with victims including a political refugee and an asylum seeker. Malik had also threatened to deport one of his victims. Prior to that, in 2014, he received a 24-week sentence for providing immigration advice and services while unqualified.