Charity allegedly made eye-watering profits by arranging sham marriages

Susan Funmi Olaleye, 60, of Joseph Court, London and Ibukunoluwa Olashore, 61, of Bertrand Way, London, were charged with conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law.

They denied the charges against them at Sheffield Crown Court.

Olashore, who was the CEO of Organisation of Blind Africans and Caribbeans, was accused of providing Nigerian and Cameroonian men false certificates and helping them to marry EU nationals before Brexit, allowing them to obtain residence cards to freely work and live in the UK.

The non-profit charity claimed to provide advice and support to people who are blind and partially sighted. In December 2022, the Charity Commission launched an inquiry into the charity “to examine potential serious wrongdoing”.

Barrister Christopher Rose, prosecuting, said: “The case studies provided to the court are for all intents and purposes sham marriages. It’s not legitimate work, but an illegitimate conspiracy to obtain residence cards.”

He told Judge David Dixon, presiding over the case, the African applicants had not met their Portuguese partners until they came to the country and some of them held wedding ceremonies.

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Since 2017, Olashore had allegedly been asking Olaleye to ensure the clients did not have poor records at the Home Office, where she had been an employee for 21 years, the court heard today.

Mr Rose said Olashore paid Olaleye £120 each time she conducted the search in the system which she was not authorised to do.

Olaleye also gave one of the applicants a crib sheet with model responses to questions immigration officers would ask and told him to falsify his duration of residence in an accommodation in London during interviews, he continued.

He added Olashore allegedly told an applicant to use an address on Grasmere Road, Whickham, only for officers to find out he did not live there after talking to the landlord.

The court was told Olashore sent £85,000 to two people who provided three Portuguese IDs to her.

Mr Rose said: “The payments paint a very clear picture that it is fraudulent work.”

The trial collapsed after juror overheard barrister discussing the case in a nearby cafe later on the day.