Rwanda will receive at least $467 million from the UK as part of a scheme to relocate asylum seekers from the UK.
The UK government’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), announced on Friday that up to $190,000 will be paid for each individual transferred to the East African country during a five-year period.
The NAO report comes as MPs called for more transparency about the scheme’s costs.
However, Labour has labelled the figures as a “national scandal”.
In January, Rwandan President Paul Kagame indicated U.K. efforts to create an asylum pact with his nation are taking too long to implement, following criticism of the scheme resulting in protests, litigation, and verdicts that have halted it.
A Supreme Court ruling in November described the plan as ‘illegal’.
Britain’s Home Secretary James Cleverly and Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta signed a new treaty in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, in December.
Under the five-year deal, the UK would be able to send individuals who arrive in the country illegally to Rwanda to claim asylum there.
Britain and Rwanda first signed the deal in April 2022.
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