THREE people from East Lancashire are facing charges of scam marriages to Vietnamese partners.

A fourth person is accused of witnessing one of the weddings.

The two men and two women, from Blackburn and Oswaldtwistle, appeared at Blackburn magistrates court accused of entering into, or witnessing, sham weddings to keep Vietnamese nationals in the UK on marriage visas.

It is alleged local men and women were offered up to £10,000 a time to enter into ‘marriages of convenience’.

At Blackburn magistrates court Kevin Donnelly, 33, of Thwaites Road, Oswaldtwistle, Jason Procter, 39, of Princess Street, Blackburn and Amanda Nolan, 27, of Windsor Road, Blackburn, appeared charged with taking part in a sham marriage in order to facilitate a breach of immigration law.

Co-accused Denny Wallace, 21, of Spring Street, Rishton, who is six-months pregnant, indicated a plea of not guilty to being a witness to one of the marriages.

All four had their cases adjourned and will be committed to crown court in April.

The charges centre around a police investigation launched in February 2011 after one woman was allegedly offered £10,000 to marry Vietnamese male Dat Van Vu.

It is alleged that Dat Van Vu’s partner Trang Thi Thuy Lu married unemployed Donnelly at Blackburn Registry Office on October 9, 2008 and in March 2009 was granted leave to remain in the UK for two years on a marriage visa.

Thi Thuy Lu and Donnelly are then alleged to have acted as witnesses to a second alleged ‘sham’ marriage between Procter and another Vietnamese woman Le Thi Le Quyen, again at Blackburn Registry Office, on May 25, 2010. She then successfully applied for leave to remain on November 2010, again for two years.

Nolan is charged with entering into a sham marriage with Vietnamese man Tuan Hoang Lu on October 3, 2010, with a ceremony at Whitehall Country Club, Darwen. Witnesses at Nolan’s wedding were Denny Wallace and Thi Thuy Lu, it is alleged.

Hoang Lu’s visa application is pending.

Donnelly, Procter and Wallace all gave early indications of a not guilty plea. Nolan did not indicate a plea.

Foreign nationals in the UK on a restricted visa have to first apply to the Home Office for approval for marriage.

The Home Office considers the case and if satisfied, sends the couple a certificate for approval of marriage.

They can then go to a registrar with the certificate and be married. Following the ceremony, the foreign national applies to the Home Office for a temporary two-year ‘leave to remain’. After that, if they can prove they are still man and wife, the foreign national can then apply for a permanent leave to remain in the UK.