Nineteen people have been arrested in Valencia and Castellón in connection with ‘marriages of convenience’.
The nineteen people are part of a network organising fake marriages of convenience with foreigners seeking to obtain legal residence in Spain.
Around 300 fake marriages had already been undertaken using stolen or lost documentation, the group members impersonating the original document holders with apparent ease. The fee for this service was €10,000.
When subsequently contacted, many of the people whose identities had been hijacked were somewhat surprised to find out that they were now married. One woman had actually received a ‘thank you’ letter from her ‘husband’.