Sham marriage network dismantled in Denmark and Germany

The Hague, 13 June 2018 Eurojust/Europol joint press release Eurojust and Europol's European Migrant Smuggling Centre assisted the German and Danish national authorities in detecting and dismantling an organised crime group (OCG) that used sham marriages with EU citizens to grant permanent residence permits to illegal migrants from Asia. Today, judicial and law enforcement authorities from Denmark and Germany as well as Europol experts worked together to tackle down the key players of the OCG. The joint operation was the result of an 18-month coordinated investigation in the framework of a joint investigation team (JIT). The JIT, established with the support of Eurojust, provided the necessary mutual legal assistance and helped considerably to simplify the cooperation between the national authorities. Eurojust also supplied funding for the JIT. During the operation, which involved the execution of numerous houses searches in Germany and Denmark, the main structure and modus operandi of the OCG were identified and several OCG members were spotted in Hamburg. The OCG helped non-EU nationals illegally enter, and stay in, the European Union by providing them with stolen and falsified identification documents, tourist visas that allow the holder to stay in the European Union for a maximum of 90 days, and even residence permits. However, their ultimate goal was to arrange sham marriages of EU citizens with those non-EU nationals in Denmark so that they could then apply for and...