Canada Uncovers Fake-Document Visa Ring: 243 Applications, Criminal Case Against Five Bangladeshis
Canada's border services agency, the CBSA, says it has uncovered an organised ring that used forged documents to file visitor visa applications. According to the agency, the group arranged fake Canadian hosts for Bangladeshi nationals and submitted a large number of applications on that basis.
Five people — four Bangladeshis and an associate — now face a criminal case over immigration-related fraud. In the same investigation, the CBSA says it identified 209 Bangladeshi citizens linked to attempts to obtain Canadian temporary resident visas, or TRVs, using forged paperwork.
According to the CBSA, four of the accused appeared before the Valleyfield court on 22 October. They are Russell Mirza, Mohammad Aminul Islam, Md Mudachhar Alam Bhuiyan and Kazi Nafiz Alam.
The fifth accused, Md Rakibul Hasan, is understood to be in Bangladesh. An arrest warrant has already been issued against him, leaving his position in the proceedings an open question.
The investigation began on 3 July 2024, when the CBSA, together with police and fire service officers from the town of Mercier, searched a residential property there. Evidence of several violations of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the IRPA, led the agency to open a formal investigation that August.
Investigators say the accused arranged fake hosts and filed a total of 243 visitor visa applications for 209 Bangladeshi citizens. The scheme, they say, was an extensive fraudulent operation built on forged documents and false information.
On 3 June 2025, four search warrants were executed in Quebec and Ontario, and police seized large quantities of documents and computer equipment. Given the scale of the fraud, investigators focused the case on the 79 visa applications with the clearest evidence.
The charges include helping multiple people enter Canada through fraud, inducing people to hide important information and provide false information in visa documents, and assisting in breaches of the country's immigration law.
Canada's public safety minister, Gary Anandasangaree, welcomed the operation, saying the country's immigration system is built on honesty, fairness and respect for the law, and that those who try to exploit it through fraud will face serious consequences. He also thanked CBSA staff for their work protecting the border.
Eric Lapiere, the CBSA's regional director general for Quebec, said the investigation reflects the agency's determination to identify and dismantle groups that exploit the immigration system, adding that its criminal investigators play a major role in maintaining public trust.
The CBSA says a proven IRPA offence can bring fines, a ban on entering Canada, or imprisonment. The agency opened 191 criminal investigations into IRPA violations in 2025 and another 55 in the first six months of 2026.
For Bangladeshis hoping to travel to Canada, the case is a stark warning. Trying to obtain a visa with forged documents risks not only a refused application but also a future entry ban and criminal prosecution. Attention now turns to the next steps in court.
