The Sham Marriage Racket (Immigration Law Documentary) | Real Stories

tonight we are investigating fake

marriage

s would be available there may be 10,000 more we penetrate the multi-million pound criminal gangs who we are told trade in human beings as new laws are introduced to tackle fake

marriage

s we are in one of Britain's busiest places for Registration Offices I was called to say that the

immigration

offices are in our car park, so I went down to the back of my office to have the chance to see the lively surprise, but despite the promised government crackdown by filming undercover, we will reveal an illegal industry that operates with complete disregard for the authorities what we did why not go slow I know and confront the gangsters I just want to ask you how long have you been arranging fake marriages for money because you know that black men are illegal, although your wallet is criminal and demonstrates how The problem we face is huge as Britain takes an increasingly tough approach to

immigration

.

There remains a huge legal loophole in marriage. Many who wish to remain in the UK are paying thousands of pounds for fake brides and grooms to obtain a British passport. It's been going on for years, but in an effort to stamp out fake marriages, in March this year the government introduced strict new rules, so we're set to investigate whether this crackdown will work or if it's just business as usual for gangsters. We begin our investigation here. At one of the country's busiest registry offices, Brent, west London, we started filming in February, a month before the new laws come into force.

The service's operational manager, Mandy Brahma, and senior registrar, Nisha Turnbull, have been taking note of Nisha's marriage. I just interviewed a same-sex couple. It seems more and more that people are using same-sex marriage, trusting that registrars won't want to be accused of homophobia, but Nisha and Mandy are suspicious and afraid of section 24, what was section 24 between the notice you just received? For me it is very suspicious before a couple can legally marry, in most cases they must notify a registry office. This is often the only chance to detect a fake marriage. The registrars only have a brief interview with each couple.

They have no power to stop a marriage. marriage, but if they believe that a couple is not genuine by law, they must make a section 24 report to the Home Office, but their job is becoming more difficult, it is becoming increasingly difficult to detect, it is much more sophisticated now , before you knew it directly. If you had an interpreter for one and an interpreter for the other, then how do they communicate? You become old. We don't need English or words to communicate. Now there is only one week left until the law changes. The same-sex couple returns. to the registry office for their wedding registrar Anna is keeping an eye on them as a result of Nicias' report and the immigration enforcement team is coming to intercept the couple before the ceremony.

Are you the groom? where is your partner coming? Do you have witnesses, okay, yes It's still early, it's essential that the couple doesn't know that the officers are waiting for them. I got a call to say that the immigration officers are in our parking lot, so I went down the back, honestly, in France, the element of surprise is a lot. There are four people down the steps, so they must fulfill their duties and I'm going to sit down even though I know I was very nervous. I'm going to go find the ones I know, bringing them to Anna brings the unsuspecting couple upstairs and leads them to separate.

The courtrooms and immigration authorities begin what could be hours of questioning two hours later and Ana has just received word that the immigration officers have finished the interviews. Well, the registrars in this office hope that the new laws will stop these disruptive raids from now on for everyone, regardless of their status. You will have to wait a month between giving the notice and getting married. Anyone who does not have a European passport or permanent residence in the UK will also be automatically referred to the Home Office and could face an investigation of up to 70 days. This should mean that fake couples are stopped long before their wedding day today.

I had to ask the UK border police to close the blinds every time I passed by. You know, he was only looking at me because he knew I played the part like we do according to the Home Office's own figures. There could be up to 10,000 fake weddings taking place each year, but we're told this could be a huge underestimate, so we're going to start our own research to find out how easy it is to arrange a fake marriage and see for ourselves whether the strict new laws

real

ly do. are they going to work we start searching online we find adverts for marriage agencies and dating agencies one stands out says it can help arrange marriages for people on student visas we also find adverts placed by people looking to get married so they can stay in the UK, We placed our own ad for a Pakistani called Ali, in fact our undercover reporter almost immediately received an unsigned email from someone offering a British girl willing to marry for money, so Ali decides to contact him.

He poses as a foreign student from Pakistan desperate to find a way to stay in Britain before his visa runs out. Almost immediately we received a response. Meanwhile, Ali also came across a company that describes itself as a marriage bureau, but what kind of marriage exactly is the woman? the manager introduces herself as amber, okay, you can find yourself a girl if you are interested in getting married, he will be Congress, so tell me what you want, exactly, do you want to go ahead with the girl for a paper marriage? or do you want to live with it because what

real

ly struck me about our experience so far is that, despite what you read, the law is being changed quite dramatically to try to prevent these things from happening, we actually found two Different methods, two different sets. from people who do not fear the law, absolutely yes, you are right, participating in or arranging a fake marriage is illegal, but despite this and the imminent government crackdown on the two fixers Ali has contacted, it seems that everything continues Maybe a week before the law is due to change Ali will go to Northampton to meet Chris, the email sender who says he has a British girl lined up for a fake marriage.

You have been asked to bring £200 cash as a deposit. He has been ordered to wait outside the train station. Suddenly a man appears. How are you doing Chris? Are you sure today or not? Chris introduces Ali to Sarah, the fake girlfriend, he has two young children with her. Chris boasts about doing this before Chris tells Ali that he will have to pay £2,000, which they will split. with Sarah Chris tells Ali it will be easy and risk-free he has a cover story the couple can use to fool the authorities someone needs some work I take covert alley footage to Nazir Afzal, an eminent lawyer he spent 12 years with years as director and Later, a chief prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service, which is a pure invention of a marriage.

Clearly not the Mr. organized one of him. big, however, he has access to people he knows, people who are desperate for a visa, whatever it is, he brings them together, ultimately he will make money from all of this. He is criminal just two days after the trip to Northampton Ali's in west London. on your way to meet the second fake marriage suit. Amber, the woman from the so-called marriage office, tells Allie to wait outside a subway station. Amber pulls up in a white Mercedes and quickly asks Ali to get inside. There is a man with her. introduces himself as her husband Akbar, they start talking in Urdu as soon as Ali's phone goes off, the couple immediately get down to business, they say that they have a girl for him and that she has a British passport which will be available initially .

She clearly cannot be paid to another processor. which can have 10,000 make knees in advance in advance language rc5 5 Djibouti registration keep an indicator above the cost and hire a passport officer Jenkins tells Ali that the girl is unemployed any British citizen who marries a foreign citizen You should earn over eighteen thousand pounds for your spouse to obtain UK residency after your wedding, but that's nothing to worry about, they say, because they have an accountant who will falsify pay slips and tax return documents accordingly. with the requirements. The visa denial will appear. Sovaldi better sit in his big white amber Merc and Akbar's coach, Ali, in the other tricks they used to fool the authorities, well optically he pays a registration fee of 300 pounds and is returned to the metro station in the space of just 72 hours.

They offered to feign bright nausea. Afzal has had to deal with numerous. cases involving fake marriages and criminal gangs, this couple, he says, seem like big players, there is a lot of money involved, you know, ten thousand pounds, when we are talking about millions of pounds made by people like her or others based on a practice that is criminal . there are no two ways about it, it is now early March and a new law has just come into force which automatically refers anyone without a European passport or British residency to the head office, which now has 70 days to investigate suspicious partners , but will there be any difference?

The gangsters, our undercover reporter Ali, returns to Northampton for his second meeting with Chris. The marriage part is a simple process. The headlines have to come from the citizens if anything. It could be 70 days, two months, as smooth and what it seems or the research they do. So how are we going to make sure our background for the next hour Chris guides Ali and his future wife Sarah through his cover story? He tells Ali that, despite having different backgrounds, he trusts that they won't be asked anything. Tough questions, the thing is she's British about Saudi Arabia and at first glance you know it seems like a relationship that stands out in terms of lack of religion, that's very touchy, they're afraid to mention it, it's not PC.

It's no different. Chris says that once Ali is married he can't be forced to leave the UK. He brags about his excellent track record after accepting the cover story from him. Chris takes the couple to the pub garden to take some photographs. It's okay, kids. Chris says no. You don't look relaxed enough, I could build a house there, but that's okay, kiss me on the cheek or something, you weren't happy, but suddenly Sarah seems anxious. Chris starts to explain why they have nothing to worry about, but someone else stops by Sarah's house. I have a right to worry if she and Ali are caught trying to carry out a

sham

marriage, they could both face criminal charges for perjury and violation of immigration law.

Chris tries to calm her down if she was Polish yes that would be a lot more suspicious and dodgy but she is British what are we doing now to get coleslaw chris says he will make an appointment for Sarah and Allie at the Northampton registry office to give their notice marriage says he will get back in touch in a week right, I suspect our questions wouldn't be asked, people these days are less likely to ask those types of questions because they don't want to be accused of being racist or discriminatory religiously. The saddest thing is that we, the British taxpayers, the public lose out and That cannot be true.

I never imagined this was happening in Northampton, so if it's happening in the East Midlands, where isn't it happening a few days after the pub meeting? Chris demands that Allie pay more money up front if she wants the deal to go through Allie returns to Northampton this time Chris shows up alone Sarah isn't there, she says she's still on board and despite the new rules, she trusts that they will be waived from their application and can get married in about four weeks, so I don't see that it hasn't changed as a term, huh, so there are a lot of changes, it's just a matter of adjusting the time period, yeah, there you go, so that's just the bottom line yeah it's just a period of time it's nothing more that's the perception and the perception has to change with some really solid action but that's going to take a long time because we've had years and years of lack of controls that have allowed people to violate them almost daily, some people might say it's a travesty.

Marriage is a bigger problem when we have other things to deal with. You know, limited resources are a huge problem because the moment you can perform a marriage ceremony, you access everything this country has to offer, whether its benefits are free health services.our free education system Ali returns to Northampton for the fourth time. She hopes to meet Chris and Sarah again to rehearse her cover story, but no one is there. Instead, she receives a text saying it's from Sarah and that someone she knows has found out about her. the fake marriage the conversation takes a new turn it seems that Ali is being blackmailed on his way back to London Ali starts receiving a series of threatening emails he suddenly receives a demand from PayPal for 200 pounds the messages say that Ali has until next day to pay or they will report it to the police in the following days.

He receives an increasingly desperate stream of messages from Chris, then everything goes quiet and the messages stop. We sent one last email and suddenly received a response. Chris says he'll meet up, she says. Ali will have to hand over the blackmail money. He asks Ali to meet him outside a train station, but this time we follow right behind him. Hello Chris. I'm Ranveer Singh from ITV Exposure. She wants to ask you how long you would be setting. fake marriages for full money, yes you've been asking for two thousand pounds to set up Ali with Sarah, yes we have, we've been filming you for about three months, we've seen everything you've been saying.

Was Sarah upset about breaking the law? Is that why you started blackmailing Ali? You know it's illegal, right? In response to our accusations, Chris told us that I did not arrange or arrange a fake marriage. I did arrange meetings with Ali for my personal benefit but I was only giving him my personal opinions and did not contact the authorities. The woman identified as Sarah was simply present as a friend, she made no money from this and does not share my opinions. We also tried unsuccessfully to contact Sarah. It's early April. and the new rules have been in force for a month in Brent, head of registration services, Mark Rimmer, and his deputy, Mandy Brahma, expected to see a drop in the number of people coming forward to notify marriages, especially as they had been so proactive. when informing couples in the past in fact they have been busier than ever people are being isolated that is a slight concern if I was at the Home Office in the last month in Brent out of the 300 notices they have received , almost a hundred couples.

They have been automatically referred to the head office, but it appears that only 16 have been verified so far. Their concern is that the head office does not have the resources to investigate this large number of couples; before they would not have been looking at almost any, well, you can imagine if Son 99 in a London district for a month, just over a month, they will be looking. Well, many thousands of you mandis also discovered that people are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to get around the new rules. In an email that came through Intel from the head office, he discovered that an Indian man obtained a fake Belgian passport and is trying to register a marriage with a Romanian woman, which means that, as they will appear to be two European citizens, they do not They will get them. referred to the Ministry of the Interior for investigation, people know that a European citizen is not going to be challenged at the registry office.

I don't understand how they think they won't be challenged, although in the Immigration Service people take risks, it's just that Akbar, the head of the marriage bureau, brags to our reporter Ali that he can arrange a fake Muslim marriage, the nikah, and these fixers take Ali even deeper into their criminal underworld even though strict new rules have been introduced. Our undercover reporter Ali has already been offered one. fake girlfriend in North Hampton, he is now on his way to meet the second one that fixers Amber and Akbar offered him for 10,000 pounds, they pick him up and take him to a local restaurant, they introduce him to dehii of his potential fake girlfriend, akbar brags of his the office's history in the fake marriage industry his success rate in goods and services Ali is told that his girlfriend Zahida will transfer her bank statements and other publications to his address the couple goes on to explain other ways they will make the relationship seems genuine yes, again the recent change in the Lord does not bother them at all it is an acrylic couple they also say that Ally will be able to get out of the marriage as easily as she is getting into it they have been careful to match Ally with someone of the same background religious and ethnic one of the increasingly sophisticated ways they stay one step ahead of the new law they follow you fun game they put you close to you it is not scandalous the idea that the moment you send your marriage documents we also prepare your divorce papers It's really worrying that they think they will continue regardless of changes in regulations.

Seven days have passed and Ali is back in Hounslow for his third meeting with Amber and Akbar, they are covering his tracks as spies using a different car and taking him to a different location for each meeting, they are bragging about another fake marriage they are preparing . The woman involved is an illegal immigrant, a Hindu, so Akbar is arranging his fake wedding at a temple registry. They tell Ali that the temple is paid five. hundred pounds to host the fake ceremony and continue to boast about another illegal secondary activity for their businesses, what we have become is that the passport lives under its efficient economy, aha OHP Espanyol, you say you like the original original report, makes it impossible to believe the ambassador.

Akbar shows Ali two of the fake passports and says that they are all registered with the relevant embassies, so they can be used to travel in and out of the UK, but suddenly there is a problem: Ali tells Zahida that "he is insisting that you get your first five thousand pounds early." going further Ali says he's worried she won't go through with it solid hot cheese okay, geez, do you know what happens if they're not going to take care of me seven days later? Ali is told that Zahida will not continue because she has not received her first payment of five thousand pounds so she returns to Hounslow to meet Amber and they tell her that they have a solution and they agree to talk again soon, but not before proving once plus how little they care about the new government crackdown, so Gently they tell Ali that they organize up to four fake marriages every month, if £10,000 is paid for each of these weddings, this couple of their associates could be raking in almost half a million pounds a year across the country.

Fake marriages could be generating millions for fixers, lawyers, accountants and religious institutions, and the real cost to the taxpayer is likely even higher. Ali gets a call from Amber. She has been in contact with the so-called supplier. Ali joins me immediately afterwards. This is the phone call I received from the girl, but he will have to pay is that word supplier that gives you chills because it suggests that it is an item, not a person, they are literally selling you a woman, absolutely all of this sounds like it took an even more sinister turn. everything you're saying sounds very human trafficking, oh that's what you felt when she said you can take her passport, take her documents and then the girl is yours, match them up, explain exactly how everything will play out this. quite chilling Ali comes face to face with the supplier.

I can't forget the language they use about the woman as if she were absolutely nothing, it's bitterly cheeky and we confront the gangsters. We are investigating the underground industry where criminals are doing. millions of pounds setting up fake marriages by forging passports and what appears to be offering human beings for sale our undercover reporter Ali goes to Hounslow Seasons Marriage Fixes Amber and Akbar meet him at a tube station and take him to a supermarket car park nearby, they tell him about the man they refer to as the youth supplier and the supplier's wife, Ali told him that he seems to have few options to participate in this illegal

sham

marriage.

We are in different different geographies. Jashub tomorrow jicama salad Nikolai is co cotton child paper Elderly Gemma Karabakh will go to Janaki miss nebula IC ke kanaka sorry for conquering the yellow K, I was present, ready, ever saw fast. Holly is told that she will pay ten thousand pounds to sell the girl's supplier, as well as the eight hundred pound fee for Amber. and Akbar Amber says they will also get money from the supplier as commission when the deal closes suddenly, the atmosphere changes Malik is here and he has a woman in his car, how is everyone?

Good alligator Julia, they didn't remove the license plates from her car, maybe. To make sure they aren't caught on the supermarket's CCTV, they tell Ali that he will have just a few minutes to talk to her as they sit in the front of the car. Malik and Akbar stand guard outside. Amber watches from the back seat. How old are you? Well, why did you move to London after just 10 minutes? Malik takes Julie away. We don't know more about Malik than Amber and Akbar tell Ali, but they claim he's in a different league. Ali is now deep in the criminal's underworld. gangs that seemed to be surrounding the authorities.

This couple's attitude towards the law despite recent changes is even more shocking because, according to them, their business involves the trade of human beings. Nazarov's cell has spent decades fighting forced marriage and the abuse of vulnerable people. people in her role as chief cps prosecutor, if amber's description is correct, she has serious concerns. I can't get over the language they use about the woman as if she were nothing, absolutely nothing, it's literally shameless, according to her, the woman is a puppet and they bring her in with 10 or 15 20 people at a time you know it's human trafficking wholesale crime goes far beyond a simple fake marriage during our six month investigation we found fixers and people who apparently trade in human beings with whom they are making millions of pounds at our expense and they don't seem to care at all about the change in the law, but the solution is that brides and grooms are only part of the story.

Amber and Akbar have told Ali that they work with accountants and lawyers who facilitate the charade. marriages by forging documents and submitting false applications to the head office, if what this couple says is true, these professionals are not only violating their own strict codes of conduct, but they are also breaking the law, so Ali will go undercover again to find out. how easy it is to find someone willing to break the rules. His story is that his visa is running out and he wants to stay in the UK. Some tell him that unless he has a genuine relationship, they cannot accept him as a client. but with many others, Ali's camera captures a different story.

I'm my consultant in Whitechapel. East London alley meets immigration adviser Osman Malik. If I know, I can convince a European citizen. Yes. Deny me more just for the reason of paperwork. Could you help me? Yeah, great, and then I guess and then exactly what they would do to compile the paperwork. Bosman Malik says that he is happy to accept Ali as a client in the wars and that if Ali is caught he could be deported. Next Ali visits the lawyer Mr. Naqvi in ​​Southall West London his fee is fifteen hundred pounds I think the relationship was obviously genuine Inga, damn it, I didn't marry cream and that's taking me too long.

Hey, lucky you just met Chris, we, whatever, just the services, yeah, regardless of whether. the relationship is genuine oh no me and an inconvenient omniscient man we believe your statement finally Ali visits dennings in east London and meets with lawyers efika Ali his fees are great two thousand pounds what if I pay someone to Will you marry me? Would you like to help me? Have you done this before? You have experience? I mean, we also showed the images of these meetings. Nasia Ave Sal. Yes, he described the associated risks, but he has not identified what he is doing, which for him is facilitating a crime.

It is a matter of See no evil Hear no evil The individual has told them that he does not want to go to my genuine marriage See no evil Hear no evil It does not work They could be conspiring with that individual to facilitate their immigration or violating the rules of Immigration which is a criminal offence, there can be no real doubt about what it says to the individual in question, we are talking about potentially criminal behavior and not simply violations of disciplinary codes, mr. Esmond Malik told us that I don't remember the meeting and that I should have understood that it was an arranged marriage.

Both he and my consultant said they would not knowingly violate immigration law, assist others in doing so, or violate their own professional codes of conduct, the consultants added. They have suspended Mr. Malik and ordered a full investigation and notified the office of the Commissioner of Immigration Services, Mr. Malik is a junior advisor, not a partner, and his opinions or advice are not representative of Mr. Naqvi's firm, he told us. I made my position clear with his reporter. I did not turn a blind eye to asham marriage I have been practicing as a lawyer since 1993 and have an unblemished record I come from a culture where arranged marriages are the norm I was making my The position was clear and that was that any marriage entered into had to be genuine.

We also wrote to Dennings about our undercover evidence. They responded that he had no less than 500 volts of striking capacity. They were surprised that an experienced lawyer like Ali would carry out something like that. irresponsible representation and advice and would investigate suggesting that he should report to the regulator mr. Ali, who now runs his own practice, told us this at a very early stage. I guess he was undercover. He knew that he was not a real customer but a fake one. I had no intention of taking instructions from him or acting on his behalf. take cases where there is no merit in the case or someone instructs me to act against the law our investigation has revealed that illegal immigration through the fake marriage industry far from being under control appears to be booming.

Ali has been offered several fake girlfriends and legal assistance. And immigration advisers, meanwhile, Amber and Akbar from Fixes in Hounslow continue to pursue Ali. They say their supplier needs a deposit to keep the girl. He is waiting for them again at the subway station. Amber and Akbar meet him in a different car and take him to a cafe. They are in a good mood and can't resist telling him why they say the girl came from Malik and tell him more about the boyfriend. Ali hands him his £500 deposit and asks how the rest of the alert is done. and Akbar stay on Ali's case and ask him to meet them again they pick him up in a different car and immediately get to work they say Malik has been in touch they still think they have nothing to fear but what they don't They know we are right behind them.

I'm promoting the exhibition. I would like to ask you some questions about arranging illegal marriages. Not well. Amber an out bar. We know what you've been doing. We've been filming you. It's been three months and we've seen all the illegal things you've been doing, so I'd like to ask you some questions about the guilt you might have for selling vulnerable women into illegal marriages. No, we know everything. You are denying that. What do you do? what is your? how do you make all the money? how do you make all your money? then he says really and what about the fake passports we saw in the back of the car at the bar that you showed Ali?

What's up with those Alis you came to meet today? We've been filming you for three months. We know exactly what. You can do it? You've been talking about a woman named Julie, haven't you? You were trying to sell it for ten thousand pounds through mr. Malik oh you know me, you don't know mr. Malik at all, no, what is the procedure? How can I help you? What is the proof? I just want to talk to you about how to go through the legal process. Whatever you want to do, send me the notice of our I'll go, yeah, so what. about them so he can just ask you if you feel guilty for selling Julie out and calling her a puppet you don't feel guilty about it you don't feel bad about it Julie we know you met her and you made Ali meet her in a car.

We know what you've been doing in response to our accusations. Lawyers representing Amber Akbar Zahida and Malik confirmed that none of their clients had given our reporter Ali their real names and that they were all legitimate. Working members of the society said that amber and akbar alias zeyneb hawaiian and hawaiian ramzan ran a legitimate marriage office until december 2014 sahie de a what does hamad is a part time administrative staff member and mr. Malik, a cake, a chef Akhtar is a team leader in a top automobile company. They told us that their clients fabricated and exaggerated information to agree with Ali, as they suspected that he was trying to set them up from the beginning and wanted to find out why.

It was his intention to obtain his identity to report his conduct to the police. They said Zahida had also provided false details to Ali because he suspected him of trying to set them up. A head office spokesman said criminal gangs try to cheat. Our immigration laws will not escape justice. The Immigration Act which became law last year gives us much stronger powers to identify disruptions and deterrence of dodgy marriages. In the last year we intervened in more than 2,900 alleged fake marriages, double that of the previous year and since March. When our new powers came into effect, we made over 230 arrests and removed 150 people from UK immigration control offices.

We are working closely with registrars to ensure the referral process goes smoothly. Most decisions to extend the notice period are now made within a week of the couple giving notice, registrars are also notified so they know how many cases the Home Office is investigating. We are also providing our evidence to the police despite government repression and the best efforts of registrars across the country. Our evidence suggests it is a business. As is common among gangsters, can anything be done to truly tackle the fake marriage industry? They will probably get away with being perfectly frank with you and I think they will continue to do so regardless of any legislation any government introduces, even though you may think there is a gain to marriage, they will always be gangsters willing to try to circumnavigate immigration rules