MELBOURNE: An Indian-origin migration agent and his wife face up to 10 years in jail after being accused of running a visa scam in which clients paid for fake marriages to Australian women to enter the country.  The agent and his wedding celebrant wife — Chetan Mohanlal Mashru and Divya Krishne Gowda — were accused of allegedly running visa racket, media reports here said. Â
Two days ago, Australian Federal Police arrested Mumbai-born Mashru and his Australia-born wife at their Oxley unit in Brisbane’s southwest. Â Both Mashru and Gowda face up to 10 years in jail and also 170,000 dollars each in fines. Â The pair, whose alleged racket was exposed by a Courier-Mail probe in April last year, faced a bail hearing in the Brisbane magistrates court on Wednesday. Â The court heard that over 30 men and women whose marriages were allegedly arranged by the couple were among the prosecution’s witnesses. Â Commonwealth prosecutor Aimee Aisthorpe opposed both bail applications, saying the accused ran an “organized and ongoing operation” from March 2011 to March 2012 and they charged between $10,000 and $20,000 for each marriage. Â Bank statements and marriage certificates were part of the evidence against the couple, the court heard. Â “
The defendant (Gawda) profited significantly from the offences …,” she said, adding “It’s difficult to comprehend a more serious offence of this type.” Â The court heard that the couple had no ties to the community and their property portfolio has been retained by the police. Â During the bail application for Gawda, Aisthorpe told the court the couple fled their Oxley home for India after they were questioned by a journalist in 2012 about the scam. Â “They left the day after they we’re confronted and were gone for six and a half months,” she said. Â
Mashru, a second year law student, did not renew his migration agent registration after it lapsed last year. Â Magistrate John McGrath later granted them bail on several conditions which included reporting to a local police station three times a week, not to come within 300 metre of an international departure point and not to contact the prosecution witnesses. Â Gawda was also instructed to surrender her passport while the police had already seized Mashru’s passport. Â
Mashru faces 17 counts of attempting to arrange marriage for visa application; 14 counts of fraud to influence visa applications and 18 offences under the commonwealth criminal code of dishonestly influencing a public official. Â Gawda has been charged with 17 counts of attempting to arrange a marriage for visa application. Â Their matters have been adjourned to the Commonwealth Callover Court in Brisbane on March 14.