‘Sheer desperation to migrate’: VFS Global admits breach in Ahmedabad office led to fraud
There was a 140% increase in visa applications in 2021-22 and a 20% increase in 2022-23, according to VFS Global.
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According to an FIR registered on a complaint lodged by the company, two VFS Global employees, a former employee and travel agents forged documents and fraudulently enrolled the biometric data of 28 people. (File photo/Representational) VFS Global, one of the largest visa outsourcing and technology services firms, has said the “sheer desperation to migrate”, a demand-supply gap in visa issuance and the collusion of its employees with unscrupulous elements led to a fraud involving 28 people trying to go to Canada.
Admitting to a “breach” in the company’s Ahmedabad office, Prabuddha Sen, chief operating officer (South Asia) of VFS Global, said Wednesday, “We have been noticing an increase in the desire to migrate—sometimes illegally—post Covid. In March 2021, the airports were declared open for international travel in India, but we have seen the demand for visas far outweighs supply from client governments. This has given rise to a lot of unscrupulous activities around the visa domain.”
According to Sen, there was a 140 per cent increase in visa applications in 2021-22 and a 20 per cent increase in 2022-23. He said that about 50 per cent of the visas were getting rejected—an “all-time high”—and that the company’s call centres were inundated with calls from “desperate” applicants.
The company hired the services of a team under a former DGP of Goa to keep a tab on “key pockets” like Gujarat, Punjab, Hyderabad, New Delhi, and Kerala, where Sen said visa frauds are high.
“We also see a strong desire for people wanting to beat the system and fast-track their visa application…This desire has led to the unfortunate incident where people have taken advantage of the demand-supply gap and the desire to migrate to different lands, possibly for a better life,” Sen said.
According to an FIR registered on a complaint lodged by the company, two VFS Global employees, a former employee and travel agents forged documents and fraudulently enrolled the biometric data of 28 people.
“Applications were consistently being received from people in Ahmedabad who were not in the system, but were enrolling for their biometrics in order to get a visa… When we received this tip-off, we took it upon ourselves to investigate the whole matter,” Sen said, adding that the company similarly reported a visa-related fraud to Delhi Police three months ago.
“Yes, there has been a breach in the process. There are grey operators and agents, including former employees who are operating from outside the system. There is some involvement of insiders also… But they (employees of VFS Global) are a small spoke in the whole wheel,” he added.
Sen felt that the applicants were “not naive” and were looking to “migrate illegally”.
Asked how unregistered applicants were able to enter the VFS Global office, Muktesh Chander, senior advisor for internal security matters, said the “involved” employees used to smuggle the unregistered visa applicants during lunch hours through the back door meant for exit.
“This was slowly done over the entire month of June so that it does not get detected,” said Chander, who is the former Goa DGP referred to by Sen, adding that CCTV footage from the office would be shared with the Crime Branch as evidence.
Chander said the travel agents had taken Rs 30-35 lakh from each of the applicants and had also paid bribes to VFS employees.
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