Warner News
11/06/2010
Migrants marrying UK citizens must now learn English
Compulsory English language tests will be introduced for non-European migrants.
01/10/2009
Two new policy announcements for Tier 4
New policy for Tier 4 sponsors
Immigration scam couple look set to lose more than £600,000 of their ill-gotten gains.
A couple who were jailed for masterminding a massive immigration scam look set to lose more than £600,000 of their ill-gotten gains.
Jatinder Sharma and Rakhi Shahi were sentenced to seven and eight years in prison respectively in June 2009, following a four-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
The couple ran a company called Univisas. They specialised in providing counterfeit documents, qualifications and certificates to support immigration applications.
They were arrested in May 2008 by a specialist team of immigration officers and Metropolitan Police officers working for the UK Border Agency
Raids on their home and business premises in Southall, west London, uncovered thousands of counterfeit documents, stamps used in their production, passports, and thousands of pounds in cash.
Following their trial, officers located more money and property belonging to the group in India.
At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday 8 June, Rakhi Shahi had £107,000 confiscated from her bank accounts.
Jatinder Sharma had £74,000 from his bank accounts confiscated, but the judge also told him to hand over another £417,000 in hidden assets. If he fails to do so, he faces another four years on his sentence.
Detective Inspector Robert Coxhead from the UK Border Agency's immigration crime team said:
'It's clear that these people ran a sophisticated and lucrative international criminal enterprise.
'By working closely with the Indian police in order to track down their assets, my officers have shown that we will leave no stone unturned in stopping criminals from profiting from their crimes.'
At an earlier hearing a third member of the gang, Neelam Sharma, was ordered to hand over £188,000 in cash from her bank accounts, meaning that in total more than £0.8 million has been recovered from the operation.
[This news was reported on the UKBA website]
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