Delhi’s visa fraud network thrives despite blacklists and raids

Fraudulent visa and recruitment agencies have become synonymous with an expanding web of deception across the country.

In September, police arrested a 36-year-old man, Imran Khan, for running an illegal recruitment agency that defrauded job seekers with false promises of employment in Gulf countries.

Khan, a resident of Matiala village in Uttam Nagar, allegedly sent people to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Iran, and Iraq under bogus job offers, officials said.

Arrest and recovery

The illegal agency operated from Nangli Jalib near Janakpuri East Metro Station. The arrest followed a complaint from a victim who had been cheated of Rs 75,000 by Khan, who had promised overseas employment.

After being stranded in Kuwait, the victim was rescued with help from the Indian Embassy, a senior police officer said. “A raid at the office of IK Manpower Services Pvt Ltd led to the seizure of 148 passports, which Khan could not justify possessing. The accused was also found operating with nine tele-callers and failed to produce any valid documents or registration under the Emigration Act, 1983,” said DCP (Crime) Aditya Gautam.

Khan confessed to promoting his services on social media, where he misled job seekers into falling into his fraudulent trap. Job seekers would contact him on the numbers provided, where calls were received by tele-callers appointed by him, the DCP added. Police are investigating further to identify other victims, trace the money trail, and dismantle the network.

The widening scam

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), there are 351 unregistered overseas recruitment agencies in the national capital. Many were declared illegal and blacklisted by May 2022, yet they continue to operate.

Officials said these agencies often evade restrictions by re-emerging under new names or through associated entities. This allows the scam to continue with minimal disruption.

Nehru Place, known primarily as a hub for technology-related services, has also become a major centre for immigration and visa operations. Signboards advertising “visa services” crowd the skyline. For recruitment firms, such advertising is usually confined to their buildings, as the work demands discretion.

This anonymity enables blacklisted firms to keep functioning from the same offices under new names. For instance, CN Immigration Services, operating from Nehru Place, was blacklisted by the MEA after five customer complaints. The company reportedly shut down by the end of 2022 but continued operations over the phone for some time, sources said.

Shared directors and revolving doors

Records show that CN Immigration’s last directors were Asharam and Rajeev Tripathi. By the end of 2021, Rajeev had become Additional Director of Countrywide Immigration Private Limited. One of CN’s former Additional Directors, Pooja Saluja, is also associated with the same firm.

Also Read: Delhi loses nearly Rs 1,000 crore to cyber fraud in 2025

Clients say these links reveal how deep the rot runs.

Navya Baskar, a former client, said there was “no proof of any successful case study” with the agency. “I’ve had a bad experience with this agency. I was approached by them and somehow I proceeded with initial fees without any forethought. But later when I asked them for proof of any other client who has availed their services and got a job abroad, they literally have no proof. They try to lure you with an attractive salary and offers; be careful and ask all questions before the initial bulk payment,” she said.

Another client, Tanu Govind, faced similar issues, saying the company refused to refund a significant amount of money. “They’re frauds. The staff lure you with easy promises, stay friendly until money hits, then disappear on you. No profile updates, no World Education Services (WES) login shared; they let your account deactivate and demand more cash while blaming you. Staff members manipulate and hide behind the agreement, which contradicts their emails. I have lost Rs 1.25 lakh without refund,” she said.

An employee of the agency, however, claimed that many of the online reviews were fake and that genuine cases often failed due to incomplete documentation.

“Sometimes the candidates are not able to process the kind of information that they should be submitting or the documents that they need. This leads to their application getting stuck and not really going anywhere. We do not have a refund policy,” the employee said on condition of anonymity.

According to MEA data, CN Immigration had the highest number of grievances among Delhi-based recruitment agencies, followed by Skynet Global Services, which faced four complaints. A trading firm, Momentum Vintrade, has since started operating from its premises.

Weak enforcement and loopholes

Between 2021 and June 2024, more than 4,000 police complaints were lodged nationwide against illegal recruiting agents. Yet action was taken in only 10% of the cases, with prosecution and conviction rates remaining low.

“Because the clients and agents often strike a deal: the person who has been cheated gets his money back, and in return, they ask the police to let the agent go,” Hardial Singh Mann, a retired police officer from Punjab, told NPR in a 2020 interview.

Most of the recruitment work is done by sub-agents who handle application processing. These sub-agents have urged the government to certify them formally at an affordable licence fee, as registering as a recruiting agent requires a Rs 50-lakh security deposit — an amount most cannot afford.

The Indian government is drafting a new law to replace the outdated 1983 Act to include sub-agents in the regulatory framework. “All these people are intrinsic to the system of overseas migration,” said a sub-agent who requested anonymity. “Instead of abolishing them, the government simply needs to start regulating them.”

Online fraud and cyber policing
Such scams have increasingly moved online. On June 25, several job seekers were duped through a fraudulent listing on the Job Hai application.

The Cyber Police Station in Shahdara busted the racket, operated under the name ‘Treasure Find Solution’, which tricked applicants by promising jobs with companies such as Zepto via a fake app called Job Hai.

The scam surfaced after a 19-year-old from Bhola Nath Nagar responded to a YouTube advert. The fraudsters, posing as HR executive ‘Kamal’, lured him to a fake interview in Nirman Vihar and extracted Rs 9,000 in staged fees before blocking him when he refused further payments.

Following his complaint, police registered an FIR and arrested the main accused, Rahul, 30, from Bahadurgarh, Haryana, through mobile forensics and surveillance.

Raids in Noida and Delhi recovered over 100 CVs, Aadhaar cards, forged agreements, and company stamps. Rahul has allegedly been running similar scams since 2011 using multiple bank accounts. Police have urged job seekers to verify offers and avoid making payments through unverified links.