:00:09. > :00:14.Brides and grooms for sale. Tonight, we go undercover to expose the big
:00:14. > :00:19.fake Welsh wedding planners. Have you done these pretend marriages
:00:19. > :00:23.before? Yes. We follow the UK Border Agency as
:00:23. > :00:30.they try to stop couples marrying for visas, not love. Is there a
:00:30. > :00:34.reason you don't want me to know where your passport is?
:00:34. > :00:37.We ask how some are getting away with it. It is very hard to come
:00:37. > :00:40.into a marriage room, marrying a couple and you just know they're
:00:40. > :00:42.laughing behind their hands at you. And we investigate why Wales is a
:00:42. > :00:48.target. A want to talk you about fake
:00:48. > :00:58.marriages, that she'll organising fake marriage is. -- that you are
:00:58. > :00:59.
:00:59. > :01:07.In a perfect world, your wedding day should be the happiest day of
:01:07. > :01:13.your life. The joining of two people in love. Well, not always.
:01:13. > :01:23.It can go horribly wrong. The UK Border Agency are about to
:01:23. > :01:27.raid what they think is a sham marriage at Cardiff Register Office.
:01:27. > :01:31.Just waiting for them to arrive. The plan is they will be seen by a
:01:31. > :01:38.metre and a greater and be taken down to the reception room. Once
:01:38. > :01:44.they are there, we will go down and deal with them. -- by a meeter and
:01:44. > :01:54.greeter. The groom is Nigerian. His bride is
:01:54. > :01:54.
:01:54. > :01:57.Polish. No guests yet, but the couple are about to get a big
:01:57. > :02:00.surprise. Hello, we need to have a bit of a
:02:00. > :02:02.chat with you Hi, my name's Lisa. I'm with the UK
:02:02. > :02:05.Border Agency. The couple are split up for
:02:05. > :02:08.questioning and held in separate rooms. But will their stories
:02:08. > :02:12.match? I want you to be as truthful as you
:02:12. > :02:15.can with me. Where did you meet your partner? Cardiff. Where in
:02:15. > :02:24.Cardiff? Newport Road. Do you know what date that was? No. Do you know
:02:24. > :02:26.what month? No. I can't remember. The bride-to-be is struggling to
:02:26. > :02:28.remember important facts too. Like where her fiance popped the
:02:28. > :02:31.question. Where were you when he asked you?
:02:31. > :02:36.At his friend's house. And where was that? I don't remember. In
:02:36. > :02:39.Cardiff. In this case, the Border Agency was
:02:39. > :02:43.tipped off by the registrar. In the past year here, they have contacted
:02:43. > :02:46.the UKBA 20 times. It's a priority for us as at the moment, as it's an
:02:46. > :02:50.avenue that criminals and offenders are exploring to try and exploit
:02:50. > :02:54.the immigration system. So it's something we're clamping down on to
:02:54. > :02:58.make sure that they don't. I don't think this relationship is
:02:58. > :03:01.genuine. You're not giving anything that suggests that this is a
:03:01. > :03:06.relationship that is genuine. Sham marriages are becoming big
:03:06. > :03:10.business. Loopholes in immigration laws are being exploited by the
:03:10. > :03:20.trade. Tonight, we go undercover to find people willing to sell us the
:03:20. > :03:23.
:03:23. > :03:27.services of a fake groom who'll This is our fake bride-to-be. She's
:03:27. > :03:30.Indian and one of our undercover journalists.
:03:30. > :03:37.We've given her an uncle - another member of our team. He's met up
:03:37. > :03:43.with a man in Cardiff who is offering sham marriage packages.
:03:43. > :03:48.said that he could find us a European groom. He even said that
:03:48. > :03:52.he could find a fair guy or a dark guy. But he said the fair one would
:03:52. > :03:55.look better in photos. He's even offered a place to live in -
:03:55. > :03:59.everything we'll need to try to cheat our way through a sham
:03:59. > :04:03.marriage and ultimately get a visa so that I can stay in the UK.
:04:03. > :04:13.She has told the wedding fixer that her visa is running out. He says a
:04:13. > :04:15.
:04:15. > :04:18.fake wedding is one way of keeping Let's do it, let's see, Mr Lubos.
:04:18. > :04:22.A few days later, our undercover uncle goes to meet the fixer to
:04:22. > :04:32.arrange the deal. This man, Lubos, is Czech, and he's
:04:32. > :04:42.lined up a Czech groom for us. What is your name?
:04:42. > :04:49.
:04:49. > :04:59.What do you think, I have never done this before?
:04:59. > :05:07.
:05:07. > :05:13.Lubos says this isn't his first So how much.
:05:13. > :05:19.Lubos says this isn't his first sham marriage.
:05:19. > :05:23.So for �3,500, our bride can walk down the aisle with Filip.
:05:23. > :05:33.But Lubos says they'll have to be able to prove they're in a
:05:33. > :05:37.
:05:37. > :05:40.relationship. And that means faking They have to be together for a
:05:40. > :05:46.year? At least. He offers to let the happy couple
:05:46. > :05:56.use the flat as a fake home in case the Border Agency become suspicious.
:05:56. > :06:02.
:06:02. > :06:12.He is an expert? He has done this before. You yes, yes. A good job?
:06:12. > :06:41.
:06:41. > :06:43.So we leave, with plans to come At present, there is no single sham
:06:43. > :06:46.marriage offence. To prosecute someone, officials have to show a
:06:46. > :06:49.range of crimes have been committed - conspiracy, deception, and fraud.
:06:49. > :06:53.And that's not always easy. Across Britain, the wedding
:06:53. > :06:58.scammers are playing cat and mouse with the UKBA. There's been a rise
:06:58. > :07:03.in reports from suspicious registrars. And several cases have
:07:04. > :07:11.recently come before Welsh courts. In December, Sharon Creaghan from
:07:11. > :07:16.Cardiff was caught trying to marry Naseer Awan for cash, not love.
:07:16. > :07:20.Naseer Awan was allowed in to the UK on a student visa. He was
:07:20. > :07:30.supposed to be attending a college in Essex, but he came here instead
:07:30. > :07:30.
:07:30. > :07:33.to City Road, in Cardiff, where he got a job in a local shop. And it
:07:33. > :07:36.was at this point, the court was told, that he met unemployed Sharon
:07:36. > :07:39.Creaghan. . He offered her �1,400 to get
:07:39. > :07:43.married, and she said yes. But when they went to register their
:07:43. > :07:46.intention to marry, officials became suspicious. We received a
:07:46. > :07:52.report from the registrar that they had concerns about this marriage
:07:52. > :07:56.being a genuine relationship. And we again intervened on the day to
:07:56. > :07:59.disrupt the wedding and question the people involved.
:07:59. > :08:05.Officers searched Creaghan's house, and found a crib sheet written by
:08:05. > :08:09.her fake fiance. It was full of facts about his life and family.
:08:09. > :08:15.The result was they were charged and taken to court.
:08:15. > :08:17.Both pleaded guilty. The judge told them that their actions made a
:08:17. > :08:25.mockery of the immigration procedures and also of the solemn
:08:25. > :08:28.state of marriage. He said, it was "a sham, a disgrace". It's one of
:08:28. > :08:31.these crimes that, on the surface of it, can appear to be a
:08:31. > :08:36.victimless crime because the person on the street might take the view
:08:36. > :08:39.that, well, if two people get married, what's the harm in that?
:08:39. > :08:49.That deception opens the door to a wide range of benefits and services
:08:49. > :08:54.and privileges that this country Awan wanted to bring his sick nine-
:08:54. > :08:58.year-old son to Wales from Pakistan so he could be treated on the NHS.
:08:58. > :09:00.Instead, Awan was jailed for a year and then deported. Creaghan
:09:00. > :09:04.received an 18-month suspended sentence, and community service. As
:09:04. > :09:07.she left court, we tried to ask her why she did it.
:09:07. > :09:17.We are making a programme about sham marriages and just wondered if
:09:17. > :09:19.
:09:19. > :09:22.we could have a quick word with Today, our undercover bride is
:09:22. > :09:32.about to meet her fake groom-to-be. And as instructed, we've brought
:09:32. > :09:48.
:09:48. > :09:58.This is Jim. He is going to make Filip has put on a suit for the
:09:58. > :10:20.
:10:20. > :10:26.photo shoot and Lubos' girlfriend They will have to take proof of
:10:26. > :10:29.their identities and their relationship to the registrar. So
:10:29. > :10:37.Lubos says they'll need to add our bride's name to utility bills for
:10:37. > :10:47.the flat, to make the con seem They check her ID and start working
:10:47. > :10:47.
:10:47. > :11:28.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
:11:28. > :11:31.on crib sheets Everything was just so methodical.
:11:31. > :11:34.They were so meticulous, like getting our names on the utility
:11:34. > :11:40.bills, knowing what we had to say, what kind of questions might or
:11:40. > :11:50.might not be asked. They were so thorough with all of this.
:11:50. > :12:05.
:12:05. > :12:15.With the paperwork done, it's time He reminds our photographer to
:12:15. > :12:19.
:12:19. > :12:29.alter the date on the camera in Even Lubos and his girlfriend get
:12:29. > :12:38.
:12:38. > :12:46.Going down to various locations and knowing exactly what shots we
:12:46. > :12:49.needed. We had to pretend to be in love. I found it really strange, as
:12:49. > :12:54.it was things you do with someone you're generally in love with. --
:12:54. > :13:04.genuinely. In the space of just a few hours,
:13:04. > :13:13.
:13:13. > :13:17.they've faked the past year in Latest figures reveal that across
:13:17. > :13:25.the UK, in 2000 and there when, there were twice the previous
:13:25. > :13:31.number of calls from worried British drivers. An interesting mix
:13:31. > :13:39.of nationality. Bulgarian and Ethiopian. I have never seen that
:13:39. > :13:45.before in 25 years. Mark Rimmer chairs a nationwide Society for
:13:45. > :13:50.registrars. Of those reported to the Border Agency, I think they are
:13:50. > :13:55.the tip of the iceberg. I get frustrated sometimes. It is very
:13:55. > :14:00.difficult to come into a marriage room like this when you are married
:14:00. > :14:04.June -- marrying a couple, and know that they are laughing at you, the
:14:04. > :14:12.system, the immigration rules. They think they can walk out of here and
:14:12. > :14:22.put to his fingers up at the system. -- but two fingers up at the system.
:14:22. > :14:25.
:14:25. > :14:30.He reckons that half of his inquiries could be a fake. This is
:14:30. > :14:39.a civil partnership between a Pakistani male and a European male.
:14:39. > :14:42.That is unusual. Would it flag up suspicion? It would. May be when we
:14:42. > :14:46.interview them we good start to understand there is may be a
:14:46. > :14:50.problem. When I meet colleagues from other parts of the UK, it
:14:50. > :14:58.certainly seems to be are also witnessing huge increases in the
:14:58. > :15:02.number of people getting married from the European Union to foreign
:15:02. > :15:08.nationals. Back at Cardiff register office, the team are still checking
:15:08. > :15:17.facts. They are questioning the groom about his paperwork. Where is
:15:17. > :15:22.your passport? What address? Is there a reason you do not want me
:15:22. > :15:29.to know where your passport is? They know he is a failed asylum
:15:29. > :15:33.seeker. They think the wedding is his attempt at escaping deportation.
:15:33. > :15:42.Because you have no basis to remain in the UK we need to take legal
:15:42. > :15:47.action. Today I need to arrest you. He does not want to provide his
:15:47. > :15:49.passport because that means he will be going home a little quicker.
:15:49. > :15:59.Unfortunately, you will not be going through with your wedding
:15:59. > :16:07.today. He is taken to a police station and then detention centre.
:16:07. > :16:14.Meanwhile, his Polish Bride is told that she is free to go. We deal --
:16:14. > :16:20.we cannot deal with every case. was able to walk free at the end of
:16:20. > :16:24.this. Some people would find that are. Sham marriages, there are
:16:24. > :16:28.crimp -- criminal elements going on all the time and while there is the
:16:28. > :16:32.possibility that she has committed a criminal offence, we cannot
:16:32. > :16:42.investigate every single offence and she may well have got away with
:16:42. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:48.that but from our perspective, we Our undercover bride is visiting
:16:49. > :16:58.her fake fiance again. Lubos has asked a Czech translator to give
:16:59. > :17:06.
:17:06. > :17:12.her a more advice to help her work This is Vaclav. That Graf -- Vaclav
:17:12. > :17:22.is being lined up to help them plan their big day. He is full of handy
:17:22. > :17:57.
:17:57. > :18:07.Vaclav even suggests a wedding Then you will block the
:18:07. > :18:14.
:18:14. > :18:24.appointment? Do we have a marriage So up this is at the marriage party
:18:24. > :18:39.
:18:39. > :18:47.They demand a �500 deposit. Vaclav gets �150 fortune now of his time.
:18:47. > :18:54.-- for 60 minutes of his time. The Government has made it more
:18:54. > :19:01.difficult for un- EU citizens to marry a British nationals but the
:19:01. > :19:07.rules did not apply it to European citizens. If a foreign national
:19:07. > :19:12.he's marrying a British national there is a probationary period. The
:19:12. > :19:16.fee is �1,000. But if you marry a European Union National, the
:19:16. > :19:20.probationary period does not apply and there is no charge when you
:19:20. > :19:26.make an application to the UKBA, because European directives mean no
:19:26. > :19:32.charge can be levied. It is a loophole the sham marriage Dixons
:19:32. > :19:41.are exploiting, and not just in the big cities. -- fixers. They have
:19:41. > :19:46.even come here, too Llandudno. A Czech fake bride and Pakistani
:19:46. > :19:49.groom from Manchester at troubled here last summer and gave notice to
:19:49. > :19:55.marry but when the Registrar saw her hand in -- holding hands with
:19:55. > :19:59.another man, they called the Border Agency. The report we received from
:19:59. > :20:06.the Registrar clearly indicated to us that there was the involvement
:20:06. > :20:13.of third parties. The result was that six people were arrested for
:20:13. > :20:19.being involved in the conspiracy. And when we interviewed the six
:20:19. > :20:24.people, the bride, Kokenyova, made almost an immediate confession that
:20:24. > :20:30.this was indeed a sham marriage. She had only been in the UK a few
:20:30. > :20:36.months and it then transpired that she was indeed pregnant by her
:20:36. > :20:42.Czech boyfriend. It seems like a quick solution to get some easy
:20:42. > :20:51.money. It has turned out not to be the case. Or six will be sentenced
:20:51. > :21:00.next month. -- all six. Undercover bride is back at the flat. Lubos
:21:00. > :21:10.says she and Filip need more training to for the registrar. --
:21:10. > :21:17.
:21:17. > :21:22.I could not believe some are the questions Filip was asking me. He
:21:22. > :21:32.had really done his homework. He did not want to leave anything to
:21:32. > :21:49.
:21:49. > :21:54.Lubos wanted to move things along. He wanted �3,500. They told us at
:21:54. > :22:04.Vaclav, the adviser, would make the necessary arrangements in just a
:22:04. > :22:17.
:22:17. > :22:22.There were around 300 and force and operations in the UK last year,
:22:22. > :22:27.resulting in 230 prosecutions. The registrar office in Cardiff works
:22:27. > :22:33.closely with the UKBA and today a registrar has tipped them off over
:22:33. > :22:39.their suspicions about another Nigerian groom. I am an officer
:22:39. > :22:46.with the UK Border Agency. suspected him to be an immigration
:22:46. > :22:52.are tender. We knew a lot of information about him. --
:22:52. > :22:57.immigration offenders. We checked and his leave have been curtailed
:22:57. > :23:04.so he was suspected of being an overstayer. A tension turns to one
:23:04. > :23:08.of the guests. -- attention. When he was asked his name, date of
:23:08. > :23:14.birth, nationality, what he was doing in the United Kingdom, he
:23:14. > :23:19.gave the details of somebody else. He came back as his true identity
:23:20. > :23:24.and somebody who had come here to study but was now an overstayer, so
:23:24. > :23:31.he was arrested. The groom and the rest were taken into custody. The
:23:31. > :23:37.bride was free to go after questioning. People have seen, in
:23:37. > :23:44.this programme, two would-be brides walking away. That does not seem to
:23:44. > :23:48.be much of a deterrent. There is a lot of activity going on where
:23:48. > :23:53.organised criminals and individuals are being Rosicky do and get
:23:53. > :23:59.substantial sentences so there is a deterrent. It is difficult for you.
:23:59. > :24:04.There is clearly a question about resource. Yes, and they are looking
:24:04. > :24:11.to try to bring in new legislation where sham marriages might become
:24:11. > :24:15.an offence. At the moment it is not actually an offence. I asked
:24:15. > :24:20.Immigration Minister Mark Proctor if existing laws are tough enough.
:24:20. > :24:23.The marriage bit, doing that not for a genuine reason is not
:24:23. > :24:30.currently an offence. Back is something we are looking at, to see
:24:30. > :24:38.whether that would give us the extra powers that would make its
:24:38. > :24:42.successful at dealing with it. -- Make us successful. Lou Loz has
:24:42. > :24:52.called. He has booked an appointment for the happy couple to
:24:52. > :25:02.
:25:03. > :25:12.register their notice to marry at Which marriage of this? Where do we
:25:13. > :25:18.
:25:18. > :25:26.If orange in bride was genuinely marrying a British citizen, it
:25:26. > :25:30.would take longer and cost more. -- If our Indian bride. But marrying a
:25:30. > :25:34.European makes it much easier. Critics say the loophole makes it
:25:34. > :25:38.too easy. What about the loophole in that
:25:38. > :25:44.European nationals are unable to come here and not restricted in the
:25:44. > :25:50.same way that British nationals are? That is why we need to step up
:25:50. > :25:54.our approach to it, make sure we are more effective. When registrars
:25:54. > :25:59.report it to us we need to deal with it. But you know you're only
:25:59. > :26:04.scratching the surface. That is why we need to step up what we are
:26:04. > :26:11.doing. We are also in looking at further at legal steps we can take
:26:11. > :26:18.to make our existing tools more effective. Today is the big day.
:26:18. > :26:28.Are under cover a bride is meeting Filip and then Lubos by -- Filip
:26:28. > :26:37.
:26:37. > :26:44.But as they head out, we are waiting around the corner with our
:26:44. > :26:50.own special wedding surprise. Can I speak to you? I am from the BBC.
:26:50. > :26:59.am busy. You are organising a fake marriage. Would you like to tell us
:26:59. > :27:05.about that? You have received �500. Now. We know that your house. We
:27:06. > :27:13.have evidence. I swear I did not. We know your name is a Lubos hands
:27:13. > :27:20.that you have also arranged other marriages. Never. We know you are
:27:20. > :27:29.on your way to the register office. No, I'm not. Why are you denying
:27:29. > :27:34.this? You know it is illegal. This gentleman's name is Filip and we
:27:34. > :27:42.know he is a broom expecting to go and get married to an Asian lady.
:27:42. > :27:49.How many copies have you organised? I have not organised any. We know
:27:49. > :27:56.that money has exchanged hands. We have the evidence. Next, which
:27:56. > :28:03.wrecked and they associate, Vaclav. Hello. -- we track down their
:28:03. > :28:08.associate. You said you would help make arrangements. I do not make
:28:08. > :28:14.anything at all. You knew you were breaking the law. I do not do
:28:14. > :28:21.anything. I am not around any appointments. I do not do anything
:28:21. > :28:25.at all. So despite the fact we have got used saying this on camera,
:28:25. > :28:35.talking to two people at you thought you could take money from
:28:35. > :28:35.
:28:35. > :28:41.to arrange a sham marriage? This is bull. The border agencies says it
:28:41. > :28:46.is interested in seeing our evidence. And what about the other
:28:46. > :28:50.couples who did not make it down the aisle? The Nigerian group who
:28:50. > :28:55.try marrying his Polish fiancee is now in detention awaiting
:28:55. > :28:59.deportation. The guest arrested at the other ceremony has already been
:28:59. > :29:07.sent home to Nigeria. The groom was later released but may yet be
:29:07. > :29:11.deported. Money cannot buy you love but with the bright cash and
:29:11. > :29:17.connections we have shown how it could bring you a way into the
:29:17. > :29:21.country, if not married bliss. But the Border Agency has a warning.