Vicar jailed over sham marriages

A vicar who conducted more than 20 sham marriages in Rochdale has been jailed.

Reverend Patrick John Magumba, a 58-year-old Ugandan national, who presided over three churches in Rochdale, pleaded guilty to immigration offences in December 2011 following a UK Border Agency investigation into sham marriages. He was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court today (26 January).

Rev Magumba was sentenced to a total of two and a half years to run concurrently for the conspiracy to facilitate a breach of UK immigration law by a non EU person for two years and two counts of theft by an employee for 6 months.

Between April 2008 and February 2011 Rev Magumba was found to have ignored church guidance and the requirements of the Marriage Act when he conducted 28 sham marriages at two of his Rochdale churches.

A sham marriage typically occurs when a non-European national marries someone from the European Economic Area, or the UK, as a means of attempting to gain long-term residency and the right to work and claim benefits in this country.

The UK Border Agency uncovered a suspected sham marriage had taken place at St Peter's Church, Newbold in Rochdale as a result of its wider investigations into sham marriages in the North West of England. The investigators enquiries revealed that 20 marriages had taken place between Nigerian and European nationals at St Peter's church.

Further enquiries revealed another 8 sham marriages at St Luke's Church, Salfeld Street in Deeplish. No sham marriages were found to have taken place at St Mary's Church, Oldham Road, Balderstone.

Immigration minister Damian Green said: “Today's sentencing sends a clear message to anyone considering breaking our immigration laws that Britain is no longer a soft touch. We now have specialist teams of immigration and police officers working to prosecute people who commit this form of organised criminality no matter who they are.

“We work closely with the church to identify sham marriages and in April 2011 we issued special guidance to help the clergy identify those who seek to abuse the institution of marriage.”

Dave Magrath, Head of the UK Border Agency criminal and financial immigration team in the North West, said: “If we uncover marriages that are not genuine, we will challenge them and ensure those responsible are brought to justice. Our main aim is to identify the organisers who profit from and fuel the demand for sham marriages.

“In this case the key organiser was a church minister who was prepared to abuse his position — and the trust placed in him by the Church and his community.

“The UK Border Agency is working closely with the church and registrars to identify marriages that may not be genuine. We do not expect vicars or registrars to be experts in immigration law or spotting forged documents — that's our job. But if they have any suspicions about whether a relationship is genuine, we would urge them to get in touch with us or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”