EU border agency funds UK-led NGO for Afghan returns

The organization at the center of these transfers is Irara, a firm that has rapidly expanded its footprint alongside the EU’s deportation agenda. While Frontex maintains that it cannot currently conduct forced removals to Kabul, executive director Hans Leitjens has left the door open for future policy shifts. Irara, which received 39 million euros in 2025 alone, serves as the primary non-state recipient of the agency’s reintegration funding.

The NGO’s leadership profile suggests a commercial operation rather than a traditional humanitarian endeavor. Co-founded by Jeremy Aldridge and Jason Ollivent, the firm draws heavily from the British private security sector, including executives with backgrounds at Serco and Mitie Care and Custody Ltd. Despite its extensive work in Afghanistan since 2021, the firm omits the country from its public client list. Financial filings reveal a stark transformation: Irara’s equity surged from 16,000 euros in 2021 to nearly 8 million euros by 2024, as the firm solidified its role within the EU’s growing deportation infrastructure.