Four Nigerians have been jailed in the UK for forging 2,000 marriage certificates for their compatriots to allow them to remain in the country.
The fraudulent documents were submitted under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) that gave permanent residence to EU citizens who wanted to continue to live and work in the UK after the country left the EU in January 2020.
Some of the documents claimed that the Nigerians were married to EU citizens, while the accused also provided false Nigerian Customary Marriage Certificates and other fraudulent documentation.
The four, who committed the crimes between March 2019 and May 2023 and were sentenced on Tuesday at Woolwich Crown Court in London, are: Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, and Adekunle Kabir.
Onifade, 41, and Shodipo, 38, who were both found guilty of conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK and conspiracy to provide articles used in fraud, were jailed for six years and five years re
spectively.
Gbadamosi, 31, was convicted of obtaining leave to remain by deception and fraud by false representation and sentenced to six years.
Kabir, 54, was found guilty of possession of an identity document with improper intention but was cleared of obtaining leave to remain by deception.
He was jailed for nine months.
The Chief Immigration Officer at the Home Office (Interior Ministry), Paul Moran, said: ‘This group was absolutely prolific in their desire to abuse our borders and have rightly been brought to justice.
‘As with many gangs we encounter, their sole priority was financial gain.
‘I am delighted that my team was able to intercept their operation, and I hope these convictions will serve as a warning to unscrupulous gangs who exploit people’s desperation to remain in the UK.
‘We will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders and clamp down on the gangs who prey on vulnerable people to make money,’ Mr Moran added.
Meanwhile, the new Labour government has been cracking down on illeg
al working in the UK.
The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, announced last month that the government would tackle unscrupulous employers who are hiring migrants illegally and exploiting vulnerable people, while working to disrupt the criminal networks that bring the workers to the UK.
Last week, hundreds of rogue employers across the country were targeted by Home Office officials during a nationwide week-long operation into illegal working.
Immigration Enforcement teams carried out targeted visits to rogue businesses suspected of employing illegal workers, with a particular focus on car washes.
More than 275 premises were targeted, with 135 receiving notices for employing illegal workers.
In addition, 85 illegal workers were detained.
In many cases, illegal workers live in squalid conditions on-site, earn far below the UK national minimum wage, work longer hours than legally allowed and may have entered the UK illegally, overstayed their visas or arrived under visitor conditions, according to the Home Offi
ce.
The government said that the operation was part of a larger, ongoing effort to tackle illegal employment and exploitation of vulnerable people in the UK, and that more such operations would be conducted in the near future.
The maximum civil penalty for employing illegal workers is £45,000 per worker for a first offence and £60,000 per worker for repeat violations.
Home Secretary Cooper said: ‘It is completely wrong that dodgy employers can work hand-in-glove with the smuggling gangs who risk people’s lives to bring them here illegally and push them into off-the-books employment.
‘These workers are sold complete lies by the gangs before being made to live and work in appalling conditions for a pittance.
‘We are determined to put a stop to this, which is exactly why we have launched crackdowns such as this,’ she added.
Source: Ghana News Agency
