A “REALLY prime mover” in arranging sham marriages in Oxfordshire cut a slit in a wedding ring so it would fit all finger sizes, jurors have heard.
Abiola Abdulkareem was arrested at Abingdon Register Office on May 14 last year as a French bride married a Nigerian groom.
Police found two wedding rings at his home, one of which had been cut to allow it to be used on more than one bride, a jury at Oxford Crown Court heard yesterday. The 31-year-old from White Road in Oxford previously admitted five charges relating to fake weddings and bigamy, including the Abingdon ceremony.
He denies a charge of assisting unlawful immigration between October 2009 and March last year and possessing criminal property in the form of bank credits.
Peter Coombe, prosecuting, said Abdulkareem had deposited £87,000 into his account between January 2008 and last July.
He said: “The prosecution allege that this defendant has been a really prime mover behind arranging sham marriages. He has been arranging marriages to enable men, largely from Nigeria, to stay in this country.”
Mr Coombe said Abdulkareem used false names and posed as an interpreter at register offices.
The trial continues.
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