Five individuals sent to prison for role in international marriage fraud network: Orchestrated 132 fake weddings in Cyprus

A Pakistani man, his Portuguese wife and three Indian nationals were on Thursday sentenced to four years each in prison for being a part of a sham marriage network in Cyprus. 

The conviction was delivered by the Larnaca Criminal Court in Cyprus on Thursday when members of an international fake marriage network were found guilty.

A 40-year-old Pakistani man, his 45-year-old Portuguese wife who recruited brides, and two Indian men aged 38 and 26 who operated the illegal network in Cyprus. The court also sentenced a 29-year-old Indian man to 15 months imprisonment for entering a fake marriage with a Portuguese national to secure residency in the Republic of Cyprus.

A further 11 men and one woman face trial at Larnaca District Court in connection with the same case for conducting fake marriages in Cyprus.

The four network members were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the Republic of Cyprus, specifically the Civil Registry and Migration Department, facilitating illegal entry, participating in a criminal organisation, and participating in and accepting commission of crimes. The fifth defendant was convicted of securing registration through false representations.

“Defendants 1 to 4 participated in an organised criminal organisation recruiting women from Portugal to send them to Cyprus to conduct fake marriages,” said Criminal Court President Loizos Mouyis. He noted the defendants formed a criminal entity “without hesitation and reservation to derive profit.”

The court stressed the frequency of such cases, stating that foreign nationals “devise various methods and ways to achieve their purpose” of entering or remaining in Cyprus.

The case emerged on 29 January 2024 following a simultaneous European operation by Cyprus, Portugal and Latvia codenamed “Operational Task Force Limassol.” Cypriot authorities received information in November 2020, and subsequent investigations revealed that women and men from Portugal and Latvia travelled to Cyprus to conduct fake marriages with third-country nationals, mainly Indians and Pakistanis, enabling the latter to secure residence permits and subsequently travel to other European countries.

Investigations found the criminal group operated from at least 2018 and conducted 132 fake marriages, most at Aradippou Municipality.

The Law Office said the case proved difficult, particularly regarding proof of guilt, as many European nationals who conducted fake marriages either changed their initial statements or refused to travel to Cyprus to testify.

Three Portuguese women testified via videoconference arranged with Eurojust assistance, along with a Portuguese police inspector who investigated the case after the Portuguese Embassy in Cyprus identified suspicious marriages.