Cypriot ‘Sham Marriages’: EU Brides for Asian Grooms

The women were arrested at Larnaca airport and, according to Cypriot police, admitted to being paid between 700 and 1,000 euros to make the trip as 'fake brides' for non-EU nationals trying to secure residence in the bloc.

Ten were deported back to Romania, where such practices are not considered human trafficking under Romanian law, and faced no charge, Romanian police told BIRN. The 11th remains in Cyprus and is being investigated on suspicion of organising the scam.

"The intermediary was a Romanian woman married in Cyprus, who acted as the link between the masterminds in Cyprus and the masterminds in Romania in order to find the future 'brides' in Romania," the island's interior ministry told BIRN in a written response. "She was actively involved in arranging their travel to Cyprus."

It was far from an isolated case, the ministry said.

Lawyers, recruiters and matchmakers

According to data released by the Cypriot government in May, some 3,600 alleged fake marriages were referred to the police in 2018 and 2019.

"The organised criminal group consists of the masterminds at the top of the pyramid, who are usually lawyers and their employees organising the criminal activities," the interior ministry told BIRN.

The second layer is so-called "intermediaries" - foreign nationals resident in Cyprus or in the country the fake brides come from and who act as the "facilitators" of the weddings.

"These members act as recruiters who lure the European citizens, who then become 'brides', as well as the third country nationals who have an interest to perform the marriage," the ministry said. 

Most of the 'fake grooms' identified by Cypriot authorities come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India and are in Cyprus on...