Profits Over Public Safety
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a Halifax-based testing firm promised peace of mind for travelers needing “Fit-to-Fly” certificates. Instead, it ran a chaotic, unregulated operation from a building that resembled a construction site. Faisal Shoukat, a 39-year-old pharmacist and former Calderdale Labour councillor, has now been found guilty of fraudulent trading, money laundering, and causing a public nuisance.
The case reached its conclusion at Bradford Crown Court, where Judge Chris Smith delivered the verdicts. The jury had been discharged back in April under highly unusual circumstances, following the arrest of a juror for allegedly trying to pervert the course of justice. Ultimately, the responsibility for deciding the case fell to the judge, who spared no criticism of Shoukat’s operation, RT Diagnostics.
Judge Smith said the business was plagued by “systemic failures.” He noted that the overriding motivation of the firm was simple greed. Profit, the judge remarked, was prioritized over professionalism and public safety.
A Disastrous Operation
RT Diagnostics started up in March 2021 when the UK government opened up Covid testing to private contractors. Shoukat was the firm’s driving force. However, the reality of the Halifax lab on Lister Lane was far from professional. Health inspectors who visited the site compared it to a building site, noting exposed ceilings, trash piling up inside and outside, and even signs people were living there. Video footage from the site showed test kits carelessly dumped in a side room.
The technical side of the business was equally disastrous. Test kits imported from Turkey failed to meet UK standards. Customers frequently complained about receiving unsealed packages, or not getting their results at all. One couple was sent a positive result, only to receive a second email later claiming they were actually negative. The firm’s online reputation collapsed rapidly, with nearly 80 percent of its 1,218 Trustpilot reviews rating it a measly one star.
Most alarming was the data. Out of 138,738 tests reported by the firm between May and July 2021, only 45 were logged as positive. Prosecutors argued that some samples weren’t analyzed at all. Yet, despite only trading for a couple of months, the business was incredibly lucrative. Shoukat himself received around £1.5 million in shares from the company.
Co-defendants Acquitted
Four other individuals stood trial alongside Shoukat but were completely cleared of any wrongdoing. Among them was 58-year-old former justice minister Shahid Malik. Malik, who also received £1.5 million in shares as a co-director, was not involved in running the lab and lived abroad during much of the company’s short existence. He wept in court upon hearing his not-guilty verdict.
The three other co-defendants—Lynn Connell, 65, Paul Moore, 57, and Dr. Alexander Zarneh, 71—were also acquitted of public nuisance and fraudulent trading charges.