Madrid
Massive marriage of convenience scam uncovered in Madrid
By m.p. - Oct 27, 2009 - 11:30 AM
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A priest is amongst the 34 suspects in custody
34 people, including a Colombian priest, have been arrested in Madrid for arranging marriages of convenience to allow illegal immigrants from Colombia to obtain their papers to remain in Spain legally. Many of the Colombians were involved in drug trafficking and paid over between 10,000 and 12,000 € for their arranged weddings, which then allowed them to apply for residency in Spain and, later, Spanish nationality.
Their Spanish partners received the sum of 3,000 € and the witnesses at the weddings, 200 €. The Interior Ministry said in a press release this Tuesday that more than 100 bogus marriages which took place in Madrid and its surrounding area have so far been discovered after a two-year investigation which culminated last week in the arrest of the network’s leaders.
Most of the marriages were arranged by a Colombian-born woman, nicknamed ‘Claudia’ who, passing herself off as a lawyer working at a gestoría in the Carrabanchel district of Madrid, took payment from the migrants and arranged a partner for their marriage. She was also responsible for finding their witnesses, and for arranging forged documents needed to apply for residency in Spain.
The Ministry said the network had recently changed its method of working, saving the cost of paying a Spanish partner by simply presenting forged marriage certificates in the residency applications.