More than 200 Bangladeshi nationals are named in alleged fraud in Canadian visa applications. An investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) found that 243 temporary resident visa (TRV) applications had been submitted for 209 Bangladeshi nationals. Five people have been criminally charged.
According to the CBSA, Rashel Mirza, Mohammad Aminul Islam, Md Mudassar Alam Bhuiyan and Kazi Nafiz Alam appeared in court in Valleyfield on 22 October. The fifth accused, Md Rakibul Hasan, is believed to be in Bangladesh, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The CBSA said that on 3 July 2024 it carried out a compliance operation concerning the occupants of a private home in Mercier, Quebec. Officers of the Mercier municipal police and representatives of the fire service were present with the agency’s officers.
After the operation turned up several signs of breaches of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, an investigation into the activities of the accused began in August that year.
The investigation found that 243 TRV applications had been submitted for 209 Bangladeshi nationals. The applications presented Canadian citizens as the people inviting or hosting them. Investigators allege that a well-planned fraud scheme had been set up to obtain visas for these Bangladeshi nationals using forged documents and false information.
On 3 June 2025, CBSA investigators searched four locations in Quebec and Ontario. Evidence gathered in the searches, including documents and computer equipment, pointed to the involvement of the five people. Because of the scale and complexity of the fraud, investigators singled out 79 key visa applications for close examination.
The charges
The accused face three charges:
1. Conspiring to organise or assist the entry of one or more people into Canada.
2. Knowingly counselling, inducing, aiding or abetting someone to misrepresent or withhold material facts in an immigration application.
3. Knowingly counselling, inducing, aiding or abetting someone to contravene immigration law.
The charges have not been proven in court. A final decision will be made at the end of the judicial process.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report