A visa scam worth Rs. 300 crore

A man about to board a flight to Italy was intercepted at Delhi airport. His confession led Delhi police to uncover a Rs. 300 crore fake visa nexus.

Transcript

00:00A dedicated graphic designer, a network of agents, an office with high-tech gear,

00:05this is how a large-scale visa fraud agency was operating in the national capital.

00:30Victims were lured with the promise of getting easy entry to different countries for jobs

00:39and a better life.

00:40Let me explain how the entire operation was busted.

00:44On 2nd September, a man identified as Sandeep from Kurukshetra in Haryana was arrested from

00:49Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport during a routine immigration check.

00:54Sandeep was planning to fly to Italy using a fake Swedish visa.

00:58He said it could have easily passed off as an authentic visa if the airport officials

01:02were not vigilant.

01:04During questioning, Sandeep said not just him but several people from his village had

01:09travelled abroad recently using similar fake visas from an agency.

01:14Sandeep added that he wanted to move abroad for a better life and job and for that he

01:19met with a visa agent named Asif Ali in Delhi through a friend from his village.

01:24The agent agreed to fly him to Italy for a price of 10 lakh rupees.

01:28Sandeep then deposited 7 lakh rupees in two bank accounts and paid 50,000 rupees in cash

01:34in advance to the agent.

01:36The Delhi police used lease from Sandeep and traced an agency in the national capital's

01:40Tilaknagar area.

01:41As per the police, the visa agency was making over 30 fake visas in a month and made over

01:475,000 fraudulent visas.

01:49It is estimated over the years, the agency could have earned over 300 crores from this racket.

02:19To make the visas look authentic, they employed professionals like graphic designers and

02:27used high-tech tools to forge the documents.

02:31As per the police, they were able to make the authentic-looking visa stickers within

03:04In 2024, the IJR airport police detained around 108 fraudulent visa agents and arrested

03:29at least 19 agents who made and distributed counterfeit visas.

03:34Most of these travellers hailed from different states of India, including Punjab, Bihar and Haryana.

03:39These people were looking for employment opportunities in the UAE, Azerbaijan, Europe and other countries.

03:46Forging a visa is punishable by two years in prison, a fine of up to Rs 5,000 or both.