The Australian government has cautioned Indian nationals who want to live permanently in Australia against organised contrived marriage scams targeting South Asians. The warning came after Australian Border Force (ABF) shut down a contrived marriages syndicate operating out of Sydney, with a 32-year-old Indian national facing court over his alleged role as the main facilitator.

Four Australian citizens too are facing charges of convincing individuals to fraudulently marry non-citizens seeking to obtain permanent residency, the Australian High Commission here said in a release titled 'warning about fake marriage scams'. It said the long running operation by the ABF also resulted in 164 foreign nationals having their applications for a "partner visa" refused after they were linked to the syndicate.