Canadian authorities on Friday arrested Brijesh Mishra, the Indian immigration agent allegedly involved in a fake admission offer letters scam. He was held while trying to sneak into Canada, The Indian Express reported.
He is facing five charges under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said in a statement. CBSA said it had launched an investigation after getting information about Mishra's status in Canada and his alleged involvement in activities related to "counseling misrepresentation".
Earlier this year, Canada issued deportation notices to over 700 Indian students over 'fake admission offer letters'. The students had applied for student visas, from 2018 to 2022, through Education Migration Services—a Jalandhar-based agency headed by Mishra. He had charged more than Rs 16 lakh per student for all expenses.
The fraud came to light later when the students applied for Permanent Residency (PR) in Canada. As per the rule, students need to submit relevant documents including the admission letters to the CBSA. A probe by the CBSA revealed that the admission offer letters were fake. The students were then issued deportation notices.
Mishra had been absconding since the scandal broke.
Official data show there were some 3,20,000 Indian students with active visas in Canada in 2022.
This is not the first time Mishra has been accused of fraud, a report in The Indian Express said. In 2013, he was arrested for forging documents to send students abroad through Easy Way Immigration agency.