Fraud in Visa Applications of 209 Bangladeshis in Canada: Three Charges Against Five, Warrant for One
Three charges have been brought against five people in a major immigration fraud case in Canada. An investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) found evidence of fraud in 243 temporary resident visa (TRV) applications submitted for 209 Bangladeshis.
According to the Canadian government's website, four of the accused are Russell Mirza, Mohammad Aminul Islam, Md Mudassar Alam Bhuiyan and Kazi Nafiz Alam. They appeared before the Valleyfield court on 22 October.
The fifth accused, Md Rakibul Hasan, is currently in Bangladesh, it has been learned. An arrest warrant has been issued against him.
The CBSA said that on 3 July 2024 a search and verification operation was carried out at a private residence in the city of Mercier in Quebec. Representatives of the city police and fire service took part alongside the agency's officers. After several signs of violations of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act were found there, a formal investigation began in August of that year.
The investigation found that a total of 243 temporary resident visa applications had been submitted for 209 Bangladeshis. In those applications, Canadian citizens were shown as inviters. According to investigators, an organised arrangement had been built to help Bangladeshis obtain visas using forged documents and false information.
On 3 June 2025, investigators executed four search warrants in Quebec and Ontario. Documents and computer equipment seized at that time, along with other evidence, pointed to the involvement of the five accused.
Given the scale and complexity of the fraud, investigators focused on 79 visa applications where the evidence was strongest. Those applications form the main basis of the charges.
The first charge against the accused is conspiring to help one or more persons enter Canada, an offence under sections 117(1) and 117(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The second charge is knowingly inciting or helping others to conceal important information or provide false information in immigration applications, citing section 126 and paragraph 128(a) of the Act.
The third charge is knowingly inciting or helping others to violate Canada's immigration law, also an offence under section 131 and section 117(3) of the Act.
The government website said the charges were brought subject to court verification and approval. The charges are still awaiting verification by the court, meaning the allegations against the accused have not been proven in court.
Questions now remain over the future of the visas of the 209 Bangladeshi applicants and whether anyone else was involved in the fraud ring. Attention is now on the next hearing of the case and the court's decision.
