The UK court has sentenced four Nigerian nationals to a combined total of 13 years in prison for their involvement in a criminal organization that forged over 2,000 marriage certificates and other documents. This forgery was part of a scheme to help Nigerian immigrants secure residency permits in the United Kingdom.
The group was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on August 30, 2024, following an investigation by the UK Home Office, which spanned from March 2019 to May 2023. The investigation uncovered that the gang had been producing fraudulent applications for the EU Settlement Scheme, primarily using false Nigerian Customary Marriage Certificates and other fake documents.
This case exposed significant vulnerabilities in the UK’s immigration controls, particularly within the EU Settlement Scheme, which was originally designed to allow EU citizens and others to join family members in the UK. The gang exploited these vulnerabilities for financial gain, preying on vulnerable individuals seeking residency.
Paul Moran, the Chief Immigration Officer at the Home Office, emphasized the commitment to cracking down on such criminal activities, underscoring that the gang’s primary motive was financial profit.
