Two women and a man in Odesa were served suspicion notices of organizing fake marriages

Police detained two women aged 41 and 36 and a 49-year-old man in Odesa on suspicion of organizing a scheme to legalize foreigners in Ukraine.

This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Odesa region.

The cost of such a marriage agreement ranged from 2 to 4 thousand dollars. Such marriages provided foreigners with the opportunity to obtain a temporary residence permit in Ukraine, freely cross the state border and legally stay in the country.

As part of the pre-trial investigation, the police conducted more than 30 searches at the suspects' residences, in their cars, as well as in the administrative premises of state institutions. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized the proceeds of crime, documentation, including foreigners' residence permits, mobile phones and other material evidence.

They have been served a notice of suspicion of organizing illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to nine years with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and confiscation of property. The court imposed a pre-trial restraint on the suspects in the form of detention with the right to be released on bail.

In January, officers of the State Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the State Border Guard Service, completed an investigation into a fake marriage scheme organized by a resident of Odesa region. The woman with a group II disability repeatedly entered into fictitious marriages with military personnel. Using the status of the husband of a person with a disability, they would leave the service and go abroad. After the honeymoon, the woman would return to Ukraine and file for divorce. Such fictitious marriages cost servicemen up to 10 thousand US dollars.

Кирило Бойко