Fake office issues fake certificates

About two years ago, all that anyone wanting a birth certificate had to do was to contact a “Government Office” in Uttar Pradesh.

Located in the outskirts of Jhansi, the “Office” was among the busiest and “most considerate” to Indians needing such documents to get their legal status validated, especially overseas.

“Our Birth Certificates look better than originals. We can also prepare death certificates for you, if needed. Nothing is impossible here.”

Those were reportedly the claim made by the “Office” which accounted for 20 staff, who regularly collected taxes and provided civil services as well.

An AFP report said that the office was set up as a scam to collect feeds from residents in return for a municipal janitor.

“But the leader of the operation, named as Shyam Valmiki, allegedly branched out, opening a functioning office that employed a team of janitors. He later seems to have decided to carry on with the office as it did not appear to be a loss-making proposition,” the report said, quoting an unnamed police officer.

“If you are running an illegal operation, make sure not to commit minor offences. Always pay salaries promptly,” is an advice proffered by ‘seniors’ in the field.

But Valmiki breached the principle and paid the price for it.

Visa fraudsters jailed

In London, three Indian immigrants were recently sent to prison on proven charges of fraud relating to visas.

The Isleworth Crown Court found Jatinder Kumar Sharma (44), Rakhi Shahi (31) and Neelam Sharma (38) guilty of the charges brought against them and sentenced them respectively to seven, eight and four years.

It was stated to be the biggest visa scam in Britain.

Jatinder was reportedly married to both women and that Neelam was his wife for the past 20 years. He married Rakhi recently.

Their company, ‘Univisas’ was based in South Hall.

The Court found them guilty of charges ranging from conspiracy to defraud, theft, and money laundering to immigration offences.

Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson said criticisms of government immigration agencies made by the prosecution during the trial were “plainly well founded.”

“The checks were woefully inadequate and frequently non-existent. You (the defendants) saw the weaknesses in those systems and dishonestly exploited them,” he said in his verdict.

UK Border Agency Regional Director Tony Smith said the Company secured visas for at least 1000 people, mostly from the Indian sub-continent, using a network of bogus colleges in London, Manchester, Bradford and Essex, for degrees.

“The Police recovered £420,000 but the scam was reportedly worth £1.5 million.

“We believe we have cracked a major international conspiracy to facilitate the entry of illegal immigrants into the UK. Those behind it showed total disregard for the law, and their motives were purely financial,” he said.