The discovery of seven false marriages was at the center of an investigation by the Cosenza prosecutor's office that has led to three arrests. The individuals have been charged with aiding and abetting the illegal stay of foreigners on Italian territory through fraud.
Italian investigators who had been trying to track down an alleged Islamic State (ISIS) member intending to carry out attacks in Europe have discovered a cell that brought Italians and foreigners together for fake marriages for the purpose of stay permits for the latter, money for the former.
The carabinieri of the ROS special operations unit and the Cosenza provincial command arrested two Italian men - and ordered a woman to check in at the police station - who allegedly were at the helm of an Italian-Moroccan criminal organization formed to create false marriages in exchange for money. The men have been placed under investigation for aiding and abetting the illegal stay of foreigners on Italian territory.
Terrorism inquiry
The investigation was set in motion by the ROS unit of Salerno when, in the summer of 2016, a Moroccan national said that one of his fellow countrymen - an alleged ISIS member - had confided to his plans to conduct attacks in Europe and some Moroccan towns. The investigators found him in Cosenza. However, in the second half of August 2016, the man left Italy to go back to Morocco after a brief stay in other European states. Investigating the man further, the carabinieri discovered that both the man, S.B., and his brother, M.B., who also lives in Cosenza, had married Italian women to get the necessary documents to stay legally in Italy and then move easily throughout the Schengen area.
Criminal organization
Delving more into this aspect, the COS and Cosenza provincial command reconstructed the hierarchy of the organization, which included six Italian and three Moroccans with various roles. The group found non-EU immigrants in need of stay permits and provided them with logistical support in organization fake marriages to get stay permits. In exchange, they received between 4,000 to 6,000 euros per marriage while the Italians who agreed to marry the foreigners - who were selected from among people suffering from economic difficulties - got 300 euros.
A total of 27 people have been placed under investigation for seven fake marriages between July 2015 and June 2018 between Italians and men and women of Moroccan nationality illegally residing in Italy. During the operation, searches were conducted and six other people were placed under investigation for criminal association.