Five Bangladeshis have been charged with three offences in an immigration fraud case in Canada following an investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
The CBSA disclosed the information in a press release published on the Canadian government’s website on Thursday.
Four of the accused — Rashel Mirza, Mohammad Aminul Islam, Md Mudassar Alam Bhuiyan and Kazi Nafiz Alam — appeared at a court in Valleyfield, Quebec, on 22 October.
The fifth accused, Md Rakibul Hasan, is reportedly in Bangladesh. An arrest warrant has been issued for him.
According to the CBSA press release, the agency conducted a raid on a building in Mercier, Quebec, on 3 July 2024. Officers and representatives from the Mercier police and fire services were also present.
After the raid uncovered several indications of violations of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA began investigating the activities of the accused in August that year.
The investigation found that a total of 243 temporary resident visa (TRV) applications had been submitted on behalf of 209 Bangladeshi nationals.
The applications stated that the applicants intended to visit Canada at the invitation of Canadian citizens. However, investigators allege that forged documents and false information were used in the applications to obtain visas.
Given the scale and complexity of the fraud, investigators focused on 79 visa applications for which they had found the most serious evidence. Three charges have been brought against the accused.
Investigators said a group had been operating in a coordinated and planned manner to help Bangladeshis obtain visas by using forged documents and false information.
On 3 June 2025, CBSA investigators searched four locations in Quebec and Ontario. Documents, computer equipment and other evidence recovered during the searches indicated that the five individuals were involved in visa fraud.
Given the scale and complexity of the fraud, investigators focused on 79 visa applications for which they had found the most serious evidence.
Three charges have been brought against the accused. The first is conspiring to help one or more people enter Canada illegally.
The second is knowingly helping to conceal crucial information or provide false information in visa applications. The third is knowingly encouraging or assisting others to violate Canadian immigration law.
However, the charges are still awaiting scrutiny by the court.
Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree, said the country’s immigration system operated on the principles of integrity, fairness and respect for the law.
Anyone who sought to exploit the system through fraud or undermine its reputation would face serious consequences, he said. He thanked CBSA staff for their work to protect border security and uphold the integrity of the immigration system.
Eric Lapierre, the CBSA’s regional director general for Quebec, said the agency was working to identify and stop groups that abused Canada’s immigration system.
He described the investigation as part of that effort and praised the agency’s criminal investigators for their work in maintaining public confidence in immigration programmes.