A 61-year-old UK-based Nigerian doctor, Richard Akinrolabu, has been jailed for three years after admitting to defra¥ding the NHS of more than £268,000.
He was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on 4 November 2025, having earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of Fra¥d by False Representation.
Akinrolabu, a specialist registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Princess Royal University Hospital—part of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust—worked night and on-call shifts at three other NHS trusts between 2018 and 2021.
He did so while claiming to be unfit for similar duties at his primary workplace, at times even taking s+ck leave or reduced duties, forcing the trust to hire locum doctors to cover his shifts.
The fraud came to light in 2021 when King’s College Hospital received information that he had been working nights at Basildon Hospital.
Investigations by the trust and the NHS Counter Fra¥d Authority (NHSCFA) uncovered additional shifts he worked at Princess Alexandra Hospital, East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust, and Mid-South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
Akinrolabu was interviewed under caution in 2022 but gave a “no comment” response. Following further evidence gathering, he was charged and later convicted.
In sentencing, Judge David Miller told him: “You lied to occupational health, your colleagues and your employer. The public doesn’t expect doctors to lie for personal gain.”
Ben Harrison, Head of Operations at the NHSCFA, said the case showed a “clear and deliberate abuse of trust”, adding that the st%len funds should have supported patient care.
Akinrolabu previously made headlines in 2006, when he was cleared of accusations involving an alleged offer to perform an ill£gal ab+rtion.
A GMC panel dismissed the claims due to inconsistencies, though he admitted to an affair with the complainant
