Delhi Police arrests immigration consultant in Rs 1.83 crore Canada visa fraud case

Delhi Police has arrested an immigration consultant for allegedly cheating a woman of around Rs 1.83 crore on the false promise of securing Canadian immigration through a business investment programme, an official said on Sunday.

Dharminder Sharma, the accused, claimed expertise in Canadian immigration and overseas investment programmes and assured the woman that the investment would help her secure immigration to Canada. But he siphoned off the money she sent for the so called investment, police said.

“The complainant had planned to migrate to Canada after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in search of better employment opportunities,” the police officer said.

During this period, she came into contact with Sharma, who allegedly introduced himself as the Director (Operations) of an immigration consultancy firm and claimed expertise in Canadian immigration and overseas investment programmes, a police statement said.

Police said Sharma induced the woman to invest CAD 2,50,000 in a purported business investment scheme in Canada and additionally collected CAD 45,000 as professional fees.

“The total amount allegedly cheated was CAD 2,95,000, equivalent to approximately Rs 1.83 crore,” the officer said.

He allegedly assured the complainant that the investment would help her secure immigration to Canada along with work permits and business ownership rights.

“To gain her trust, Sharma allegedly prepared documents showing that she would become a director and shareholder in a Canada-based hospitality company,” the police officer said.

However, investigation later revealed that the complainant was never inducted as a shareholder or director in the company and ownership remained with other persons.

Police said the probe further found that after receiving the money in foreign bank accounts, the accused and his associates allegedly siphoned off the funds through cash withdrawals, debit transactions and transfers across multiple accounts instead of investing them in legitimate business activities.

Police said the complainant’s visa applications were rejected by Canadian authorities on three occasions, but the accused allegedly continued to mislead her by giving false assurances and filing reconsideration requests to delay refund of the money.

“During investigation, the team found that Sharma had played an active role in structuring the financial transactions and misleading the complainant throughout the process,” he added.

A laptop allegedly used in the commission of the offence was recovered from the accused. Police said the device is suspected to contain crucial digital evidence, including emails, financial transaction records, immigration documents and social media chats linked to the case.

Sharma, a resident of Dera Bassi in Punjab, is an MBA graduate and allegedly projected himself as a professional immigration and overseas investment consultant dealing in Canada-based immigration programmes. Further investigation is underway, police said