Legal News
Call for divorce petitions to be centralised, after Burnley court clerk unravels divorce scam (3 October 2014)
Date: 03/10/2014
A total of 180 “quickie” divorces taken out by Italian couples in the English court have been declared void. after widespread fraud was discovered by a court clerk in Burnley, Lancashire.
Local publisher The Lancashire Telegraph reports that court clerk Julie Farrah became suspicious about a divorce petition relating to an Italian couple in 2012.
The couple had listed their address as being at Maidenhead in Berkshire – some 200 miles away – and Ms Farrah questioned why they would apply for a divorce through Burnley County Court instead of via the court in Maidenhead.
After flagging up her concerns, Thames Valley Police raided the Maidenhead property – which turned out to be an anonymous mailing address.
As a result, a divorce fraud involving nearly 200 Italian couples was uncovered – the couples had paid £120 an hour for anonymous mail boxes in order to obtain quickie divorces in the English courts and had claimed that one partner was “habitually resident” in the Uk.
The mail boxes were hired to couples in Italy by Francesco Galata – who lives in Sarzana, Italy – to help them obtain faster divorces. Divorce in Italy can take up to three years and is also more expensive than in England.
President of the Family Division in England and Wales, Sir James Munby, has said that the divorces “procured by fraud” have been voided – even if some of those who obtained divorces fraudulently in the English courts have remarried and had children with a new partner.
Sir James is calling for the centralisation of divorce petitions to prevent further divorce scams.
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