Schengen Visa Fraud Case: Six Arrested in India, Two in Algeria After Two Couples Caught Submitting Fake Documents at US Embassy to Get American Visa
The Mumbai Police's Crime Branch arrested six people in separate cases, after four of them presented fake Schengen visa stickers to the US embassy in Mumbai. Four were arrested for attempting to convince the embassy that they are frequent travellers, while others were held for forging the visa stickers and exit/entry stamps.
Mumbai, August 17: The Mumbai Police's Crime Branch on Friday arrested six people in separate cases, after four of them presented fake Schengen visa stickers to the US embassy in Mumbai. As per the information, four were arrested for attempting to convince the embassy that they are frequent travellers, while others were held for forging the visa stickers and exit/entry stamps.
According to the information, received from Crime Branch, all the six people have been arrested after a complaint was lodged by Brandon Kelley Shaw, an employee of the United States Embassy in Mumbai. Meanwhile, two men - between the ages of 35 and 36 - who were specialised in the falsification of Schengen visa application documents, have been arrested in eastern Algeria. US Threatens Visa Ban on Crew of Seized Iran Tanker ‘Grace 1’
Informing more, an officer stated that a couple presented their passports to the US embassy, with fabricated Schengen visa stickers and stamps 'issued' by countries like France, Switzerland and Italy.
He said, as quoted by Schengen Visas Info, "During their visa interview, Mahesh Patel and Aruna Patel broke down and confessed that they had never visited France, Switzerland or Italy, and the Schengen visas fixed on their passport and the immigration stamps on them were fake and fabricated."
Similarly, another couple was arrested for presenting passports with fabricated Spain and Switzerland Schengen visa stickers and stamps to the US embassy. While visa agent Dharmesh Patel and Parimal Patel were arrested for providing the couple with the fake visas and immigration stamps of other countries.
In Algeria, police arrested two men in the town of Bouchegouf, on charges of forgeries, imitation of seals and signatures, falsification of Schengen visa files, and transfer of capital in foreign currency to foreign countries.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 17, 2019 11:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).