Richard Akinrolabu
By Toyin Williams
A UK based Nigerian doctor, Richard Akinrolabu, has been sentenced to three years in prison. His conviction came after he admitted defrauding the NHS out of more than £268,000 after an NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) investigation.
The 61-year-old doctor was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud by false representationon November 4, 2025.
Akinrolabu had been employed as a trust grade specialist registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology by the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) in London. It forms part of King’s College Hospitals (KCH) NHS Foundation Trust.
Officials say that between October 2018 and December 2021, he worked on-call and night shifts at three additional trusts.
This was despite him informing his employer that he was unfit to do the same work for them. He worked these shifts whilst on sick leave or on reduced duties from King’s College Hospital.
As well as paying Dr Akinrolabu his full salary, the trust had to employ locums to cover these shifts. In November 2021, KCH received information that Akinrolabu had been working night shifts at Basildon Hospital.
Inquiries by the trust’s local counter fraud team found that he had worked a number of on-call shifts there. The trust and NHSCFA investigators then obtained witness evidence.
This showed that Akinrolabu had worked at Princess Alexandra Hospital, East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust and Mid-South Essex NHS Foundation Trust whilst on reduced duties from KCH. KCH provided evidence which confirmed that he had neither sought nor received permission to carry out secondary employment.
