Women burdened by debt have found a way to profit from "instant marriages": here are the details of the scheme.

Marriage agencies in southwestern China have come under close scrutiny from the police due to suspicions of defrauding substantial sums of money from lonely men. Some potential brides earned as much as $42,000 within a few months. This was reported by the publication SCMP.

To build trust with clients, marriage agencies rented prestigious office spaces. Some employees of these firms actively sought out lonely men from small and remote towns across the country, while others focused on recruiting single women (most of whom were divorced and in debt), persuading them to take part in the scam.

In many instances, clients agreed to marry "brides" offered by the agency just days after getting acquainted. They were required to sign a contract and pay hundreds of thousands of yuan as a bride price. Such marriages were dubbed "flash weddings." After the ceremony, brides often fled or pressured the men to get divorced, using various tactics, including staging daily dramatic confrontations.

One woman who thrived in this field earned 300,000 yuan in just three months. According to law enforcement reports, she married a client in December of last year but soon filed for divorce, accusing him of domestic violence. Ultimately, she took part of their shared assets, including a car, and refused to return the "bride price" of 170,000 yuan. After the divorce, she continued to go on blind dates, while the agency concealed her previous relationships.

Chinese courts have already resolved 50 similar disputes. Following intensified investigations by the police in Guizhou province, some marriage agencies have relocated their operations to neighboring Yunnan.

Meanwhile, a woman from Agra, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, filed for divorce from her husband Rajesh after just 40 days of marriage. She explained her decision by stating that her beloved "only bathes 1-2 times a month," which led to their intimate relationship deteriorating.