An Auckland immigration consultancy at the centre of investigations into allegedly phoney marriages has folded.
Wilsons Consultancy in Queen St, one of nine Auckland premises raided by police and immigration officials a week ago, has been placed in liquidation.
Police want to talk to the firm's head, Paul Wilson, after claims that
the firm arranged a marriage between a New Zealand woman and Chinese man who wanted residency.
The woman appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday charged with fraudulently obtaining a marriage licence.
She was allegedly promised $15,000 if she went through with the wedding - $5000 upfront and another $10,000 when the man got residency.
The 24-year-old Balmoral resident was granted interim name suppression and remanded on bail without plea until she appears again next month. She is jointly charged with her would-be husband.
Three New Zealanders were arrested at the weekend over the issuing of false residency visas, and a month ago three Chinese nationals were arrested at an Auckland registry office just minutes before one was to wed his "bride" - actually an undercover policewoman.
Yesterday, liquidators were going through hundreds of files at Wilsons Consultancy, contacting clients to return personal documents such as passports, and helping them to fill in statements of claim over fees.
Some of the firm's clients said on Fair Go this week that they paid between $1500 and $25,000 for help with residency applications that went nowhere.
The Immigration Service declined to comment on the investigations.
