Two Confiscation Orders Made
On 3rd March 2005 a husband and wife were convicted of arranging fake marriages and perverting the course of justice. The woman was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and her husband, was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
The case, which was investigated by the Metropolitan Police's Operation Maxim, concerned the systematic selection of vulnerable females who held British passports and persuading them to take part in fake marriages to Indian males. The woman would make all the arrangements for the wedding to take place between the two parties, either in India or at a registry office within the UK. She also took care of the travel arrangements and any forged documentation required for the ‘groom’ to seek leave to remain in the UK. The girls that she used were threatened with rape and violence if they failed to comply. Witnesses who gave evidence at the trial stated that the defendants had received £10k per wedding.
London RART conducted the financial investigation, which revealed substantial realisable assets in the UK and India. Restraint orders were obtained for assets held in both India and the UK.
On 5th April 2006 the judge sitting at Isleworth Crown Court issued the following confiscation orders:
The woman
Benefit - £849,300
Confiscation Order - £849,300
She was given 18 months to pay or 4 years imprisonment in default.
The man
Benefit - £160,00
Assets - £130,363
Confiscation Order - £130,363
He was given 18 months to pay or 2 years imprisonment in default.
The judge commended the London RART investigators for their conduct of the confiscation investigation.
Enforcement of the confiscation orders is ongoing.