They Were Promised Jobs In Serbia, Then Lost Rs 70 Lakh: A Mega Visa Fraud

A visa fraud racket that allegedly cheated over a dozen Nepali citizens of lakhs of rupees by luring them with overseas jobs has been busted in Delhi. Two suspects, Jayakub and Rupesh, have been arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch for defrauding about 19 people of Rs 70 lakh by promising them jobs in Serbia.

The breakthrough followed a police complaint by a 22-year-old Nepali man, Sujhan Khadka, alleging that he and 18 others had lost money to the fraudsters, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vikram Singh.

Jacob had last year introduced himself as a travel agent and offered to get him and his associates jobs in Serbia, the complaint said. He even showed them scanned copies of fake visas and job letters. Once convinced, the victims handed over their original passports and transferred Rs 70 lakh to his QR code.

Individually, the victims had each paid about 3,500 euros, or Rs 3-5 lakh. But when they reached Delhi in July, hoping to collect their visas and fly to Serbia, the accused started making excuses. On being confronted, he threatened them and refused to return their passports and the money.

The investigation later revealed that all their visas were forged.

A case was registered on August 25, and Jayakub was arrested from Noida. The police also recovered 13 Nepali passports from him, besides a mobile phone containing incriminating chats. He confessed about Rupesh's role during interrogation, and the latter was arrested from Delhi's Chhawla. Two other accused, Sachin and George, are still at large.

The accused funnelled about Rs 60 lakh of the crime proceeds through hawala to the bank accounts of their friends, including that of Jayakab's wife, according to the police.

Revealing their modus operandi, the police said the accused lured Nepali citizen with foreign jobs, convincing them with fake visas and job letters, and eventually collecting a large sum of money and their passports before fleeing.