German blacklisted and unable to get job after London criminal steals ID

A young German citizen has told how his life has been destroyed after a London criminal used his ID to rack up a string of convictions that now appear on the German database against his name.

The phantom record has left the 24-year-old in despair, effectively blacklisted and unable to get a job for the past four years in his native Bonn, stymying a budding career and the start of his adult life.

Rami Battikh has written to the Metropolitan police in London begging them to treat the matter with urgency telling them he feels trapped and powerless after years of futile effort to get the the record deleted.

(Rami Battikh told his potential employers he had proof he was in Tunisia when the UK crimes were committed. Photograph: supplied)

The mix-up has been described by a British judge as a “mess” that has left a terrible stain on a German national’s record.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Battikh recalls. “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 at the time and had stamps on my passport to prove it. But they just said they couldn’t just take my word over a police record.”

Rami Battikh’s bizarre criminal record can be traced back to 2021, when someone fraudulently using his ID was jailed by Wood Green Crown Court in London for 18 months over a number of offenses, including driving without a licence or insurance, fraud by false representation, and possession of a false or improperly obtained identity document.

Battikh hired a solicitor in the UK to try and remedy the situation, and although the mixup was first acknowledged by a Wood Green Crown Court and their successor, the UK Metropolitan Police Department did not erase his criminal record. To make matters worse, 14 months later, more crimes were added to his criminal record, 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,” the 24-year-old told The Guardian newspaper.

“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,” the young man pleaded.

“We are aware of this case and we continue to work with other agencies to progress this with a view to having the situation rectified,” the Met said in a recent statement on the issue.

“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.”

Ref: German blacklisted and unable to get job after London criminal steals ID Photo Credit-supplied