Four Nigerians have been jailed after forging more than 2,000 marriage certificates to help people live in the UK illegally.
Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 41, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 38, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, 31, and Adekunle Kabir, 54, were all sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in London on Tuesday, August 27.
According to the UK Home Office, the four Nigerians were part of an organized crime syndicate that made fraudulent EU Settlement Scheme applications for Nigerian nationals.
They carried out the enterprise between March 2019 and May 2023 and were also found to have provided false Nigerian Customary Marriage Certificates and other fraudulent documents that helped applicants mostly Nigerians remain in the country.
An investigation from the Home Office in the UK and Lagos found more than 2,000 false marriage documents were created by the group before they were apprehended.
Onifade, from Gravesend in Kent, and Shodipo, from Manchester, were both found guilty of conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK and conspiracy to provide articles used in fraud. They were jailed for six years and five years respectively.
Gbadamosi, who hails Bolton, was convicted of obtaining leave to remain by deception and fraud by false representation and sentenced to six years.
Kabir, from London, was found guilty of possessing an identity document with improper intention but was cleared of obtaining leave to remain by deception. He was jailed for nine months.
Home Office chief immigration officer Paul Moran said: “This group was 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.”