Sham marriage couple unable to speak each other’s language

Rather than a traditional white dress, the bride wore casual leggings and a T-shirt and, although the groom had a shirt and tie, he did not possess a jacket, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

As a token of their “romance” the couple had wedding rings but these were purchased that morning from Argos for £32.98 and brought along in a store carrier bag.

Neither the Slovak bride or the Pakistani groom could speak each other’s language and they each needed an interpreter.

Police were alerted when the registrar at Sheffield Town Hall became suspicious and informed the Home Office of the arrangements.

The bride and groom, the two interpreters and another man were then arrested after the ceremony in September last year. All five have now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain leave for the groom to remain in the UK.

Bogus bride Renata Toracova, 36, of Grimesthorpe, and groom Sajid Ali, 30, of Darnall, both in Sheffield, admitted the conspiracy offence at an earlier hearing.

Slovakians Ladislav Mizagar, 40, and Michal Gazi, 22, the interpreter nephew of Toracova, both from Sheffield, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Monday this week.

Yesterday the interpreter for Ali – his uncle Mahtab Khan, 37, of Ossett, near Wakefield – admitted the same offence after changing his plea at the last minute. All five are facing jail when they are sentenced next month.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the registrar became suspicious when the bride and groom went for their notice of marriage on August 24 last year.

Neither of them could converse with each other as they did not speak English and each needed an interpreter.

The authorities were alerted and when the couple returned for their wedding on September 10 at Sheffield register office they and the three others were arrested shortly after 10.30am.

A brown envelope was found in Khan’s trouser pocket containing £1,400, which he claimed was spending money for the Eid festival.

The bride told police she had already been given £500 to help her pay the rent and was promised another £1,400 after the wedding.

The judge, Mr Recorder Paul Reid, said after hearing an outline of the evidence: “It was a pretty amateurish affair.

“They turned up with two wedding rings in an Argos carrier bag bought from Argos that morning.”

Toracova had a right to remain in the UK as a European citizen but Ali had the right to apply for residency in this country if he had married her, said prosecutor Sarah Wright.

Matthew Sherratt, for Khan, said it was the bride and groom who were the main beneficiaries in the sham wedding.

Mr Sheratt said Khan was not the main organiser and was just helping out a family member.

The other four have been remanded in custody since their arrest but Khan, who was on conditional bail, had it extended by the judge who warned him: “The sentence for this offence is immediate imprisonment.”

The court heard he was liable for automatic deportation.

Last month a sham marriage gang were jailed for a total of five months at Sheffield Crown Court after the gang were arrested at Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre.

Police officers found a cheap wedding ring stuffed in a shoe and a price list for the wedding, written in Urdu.