GANGSTERS IN 10,000 PER WEDDING IN MULTI-MARRIAGE IMMIG SCAM
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:10 am
Czech gangsters raked in £10,000 per wedding in multi-marriage immigration scam
By Daily Mail Reporter
9th August 2010
A gang raked in thousands of pounds by masterminding a sham marriage racket.
The sophisticated scam, headed by Czech nationals in Liverpool and Greater Manchester, scooped up to £10,000 per marriage,
The Czech gang members, who were already married themselves, pocketed the cash by posing in seemingly happy unions with Nigerians and Syrians desperate to remain in the UK.
They targeted one particular church in Salford and preyed upon the naivety of its vicar.
Today, immigration bosses described the gang's actions as a 'wholesale abuse of the registry system'.
Investigators discovered links between Wavertree and Bolton while probing seemingly erratic marriage records and spotted unusual ceremonies between Czech and Nigerian couples and Eastern European women and Syrian men.
UK Border Agency bosses identified the Czechs as the key players. They were married but evidence showed their involvement in potentially up to three further marriages each.
Last month, they admitted assisted unlawful immigration and bigamy over the last two years. They will be sentenced in September, after which the process will begin to potentially remove them from the country.
During raids in February, Petra Cinova, 26, was arrested at her home in Galloway Street, Wavertree, and Nela Ginova, 22, and Aneta Belova, 26, were detained in Bolton.
Three male Czechs, Roman Murko, 31, Vladimir Murko, 37, and Pavel More, 42, were also detained in Bolton.
Immigration officials think up to 25 people benefited from the scam which allowed them to stay in the UK against the rules.
Often, when UK Border visited addresses of those responsible, the newly-weds were already living far apart. To deter investigators, some of the couples would build up Facebook correspondence between each other to try to illustrate supposed loving, and regular, contact.
But when interviewed, the different Eastern European, African and Middle East factions would struggle to provide coherent and plausible accounts of their relationships.
The inquiry has led investigators to another address in Wavertree.
Here, the spotlight fell on two further Czech women, aged 23 and 38, one a suspected bigamist, for unlawful immigration offences.
They are said to be linked to a bogus marriage scam centred upon a church in Accrington, Lancashire.
UK Border chiefs are studying up to 44 separate marriages, estimating that 90 per cent are fake unions between virtual strangers. Those involved are said to be from both Liverpool and Manchester .
Nationally, fake marriages in this country are thought to be significantly on the rise - a trend backed up by Home Office figures.
In January, statistics for 2009 showed the offence had increased by more than a half, with nearly 530 cases reported countrywide by registrars.
If found guilty, offenders could face up to seven years behind bars.
Her Majesty's Inspector Dave Magrath said: 'Sham marriages is something we're battling across the region.
'In this case, a network of Eastern Europeans were negotiating with Nigerian groups to facilitate very brief introductions.
'When a fee was agreed, they used a Church of England church to get married, picking a vulnerable minister in an area with a changing demographic of population, who didn't think there was anything untoward.
'These people could make between £6,000 and £10,000 per marriage depending on how elaborate it was.
'I've seen cases in which the bride has her wedding dress in a shopping bag and the bridegroom still has the Primark labels on his hastily bought suit.
'In one scenario, a man was claiming to be away from his wife in Liverpool because of work down in London. This seems to be the latest illegal tactic to test our border rules. As the asylum rules are tightened, so people try different avenues to get into our country.
'We're confident that, working with registrars, we can close this loophole.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0w7an3JcE
By Daily Mail Reporter
9th August 2010
A gang raked in thousands of pounds by masterminding a sham marriage racket.
The sophisticated scam, headed by Czech nationals in Liverpool and Greater Manchester, scooped up to £10,000 per marriage,
The Czech gang members, who were already married themselves, pocketed the cash by posing in seemingly happy unions with Nigerians and Syrians desperate to remain in the UK.
They targeted one particular church in Salford and preyed upon the naivety of its vicar.
Today, immigration bosses described the gang's actions as a 'wholesale abuse of the registry system'.
Investigators discovered links between Wavertree and Bolton while probing seemingly erratic marriage records and spotted unusual ceremonies between Czech and Nigerian couples and Eastern European women and Syrian men.
UK Border Agency bosses identified the Czechs as the key players. They were married but evidence showed their involvement in potentially up to three further marriages each.
Last month, they admitted assisted unlawful immigration and bigamy over the last two years. They will be sentenced in September, after which the process will begin to potentially remove them from the country.
During raids in February, Petra Cinova, 26, was arrested at her home in Galloway Street, Wavertree, and Nela Ginova, 22, and Aneta Belova, 26, were detained in Bolton.
Three male Czechs, Roman Murko, 31, Vladimir Murko, 37, and Pavel More, 42, were also detained in Bolton.
Immigration officials think up to 25 people benefited from the scam which allowed them to stay in the UK against the rules.
Often, when UK Border visited addresses of those responsible, the newly-weds were already living far apart. To deter investigators, some of the couples would build up Facebook correspondence between each other to try to illustrate supposed loving, and regular, contact.
But when interviewed, the different Eastern European, African and Middle East factions would struggle to provide coherent and plausible accounts of their relationships.
The inquiry has led investigators to another address in Wavertree.
Here, the spotlight fell on two further Czech women, aged 23 and 38, one a suspected bigamist, for unlawful immigration offences.
They are said to be linked to a bogus marriage scam centred upon a church in Accrington, Lancashire.
UK Border chiefs are studying up to 44 separate marriages, estimating that 90 per cent are fake unions between virtual strangers. Those involved are said to be from both Liverpool and Manchester .
Nationally, fake marriages in this country are thought to be significantly on the rise - a trend backed up by Home Office figures.
In January, statistics for 2009 showed the offence had increased by more than a half, with nearly 530 cases reported countrywide by registrars.
If found guilty, offenders could face up to seven years behind bars.
Her Majesty's Inspector Dave Magrath said: 'Sham marriages is something we're battling across the region.
'In this case, a network of Eastern Europeans were negotiating with Nigerian groups to facilitate very brief introductions.
'When a fee was agreed, they used a Church of England church to get married, picking a vulnerable minister in an area with a changing demographic of population, who didn't think there was anything untoward.
'These people could make between £6,000 and £10,000 per marriage depending on how elaborate it was.
'I've seen cases in which the bride has her wedding dress in a shopping bag and the bridegroom still has the Primark labels on his hastily bought suit.
'In one scenario, a man was claiming to be away from his wife in Liverpool because of work down in London. This seems to be the latest illegal tactic to test our border rules. As the asylum rules are tightened, so people try different avenues to get into our country.
'We're confident that, working with registrars, we can close this loophole.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0w7an3JcE