Three accused over �7k ‘sham marriage’ plot

A BUXSINESSMAN has appeared in court accused of running a lucrative ‘sham marriage’ plot to help illegal entrants stay in the UK, along with two other men.

The ring allegedly charged about ten non-EU nationals around �7,000 each to supply them with European brides and bogus documents.

The year-long scam is said to have been run by 50-year-old Mian Hanif, of Goodmayes, at his company Immigration Advice Bureau in in Katherine Road, East Ham.

Working with immigration adviser Saeed Afridee, 61, of Malpas Road and 47-year-old matchmaker Ayaz Ghuree, he provided the marriage service to immigrants who had either outstayed their visas or were close to doing so, it is claimed.

Among the false documents were affidavits backing up the supposed loving relationships and purporting to be signed by the Commissioner for Oaths, prosecutors claim.

The couples met to be photographed in support of their marriage applications with a view to getting the grooms indefinite leave to remain in this country, it is alleged.

The alleged conmen appeared at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing.

Judge Roger Chapple allowed them bail ahead of a pleas and case management hearing on January 26, next year.

Afridee, Ghuree, from Romford, and Hanif each face a charge of assisting unlawful entry to the UK between September and December last year.