Three jailed over £5,000 sham marriage of Bangladeshi political activist

The fake wedding took place at Bradford register office in May last year and only came to light when the Czech “bride” involved in the bogus ceremony later made allegations to the police that she was an illegally trafficked sex worker.

Prosecutor Gerald Hendron told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that although the woman, Lucie Dundalkova, did not give evidence against her alleged traffickers she was prepared to assist the police over the sham marriage.

Yesterday her “husband” Mohammed Omar Ali, 23, of Whiteway, Bolton, Bradford, was jailed for 14 months after he admitted charges of conspiracy to evade immigration legislation and perjury.

His older brother Toffozul Ali, 31, and his wife Yarun Nessa, 27, both of the same address, were jailed for nine months and six months respectively after they admitted the conspiracy charge.

Mohammed Ali was an overstayer in the United Kingdom but there were concerns about him returning to Bangladesh where he was secretary of the Democratic Party in that country.

His barrister Simon Keeley said Mohammed Ali accepted that he must take the majority of the responsibility for the offending because he was the one who made contact with “intermediaries” who helped organise the fake wedding.

Mr Keeley said his client’s primary motive was to escape from Bangladesh. The court heard that £5,000 had been paid to “fixers” to organise the wedding and Judge Alastair McCallum described that as “a cheap price to obtain the advantage of the right to stay in and benefit from the hospitality of Britain which some people may feel is exceptionally generous.’’

The conspiracy involved the setting up a bank account in the names of the sham couple and a fake utility bill in case more documentary evidence was required.

Nessa’s barrister Nicholas Worsley made a plea for her prison sentence to be suspended because of her responsibility for their two children, but Judge McCallum said he was unable to do that because of the serious nature of the offence.