Visa fraud clogs courts
A MIGRATION agency for Indian nationals has caused “carnage” in Australia’s immigration system with up to 1300 fake visa claims now choking the court system for almost 10 years, in one of the longestrunning fraud cases of its kind.
And the pain is likely to continue with one of those involved in the phony migration scheme potentially involved in a new enterprise in northern India, allegedly stealing data
Jeetender and Reetika Ajjan.
base details from its clients in Australia to sell to Indian organised crime groups.
The Federal Court has lashed out at S & S Migration, which was struck off by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in 2013, but not before the agency handed out 1300 visas to allow mostly Indian nationals to live and work in Australia.
The company was run by Jeetender Ajjan, whose wife Reetika Ajjan worked as a Department of Immigration official, and Mahimn Sodhan.
All three fled Australia in 2011 following Australian Federal Police raids. They left after having transferred more than $1m to banks in Delhi, India.
The potential fraud was briefly raised in federal parliament in 2014 with Scott Morrison, who was then immigration minister, but he declined to provide details and only confirmed a scam investigation was ongoing.
It can now be revealed that since that time, those given fake visas have been fighting to remain in Australia through every available jurisdiction including the Federal Court, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Circuit Court and the Migration Review Tribunal of Australia in what one tribunal member described as creating “orchestrated widespread mayhem in the work of the minister’s department and in the Tribunal because of (S & S Migration’s) fraudulent activities”.
One hearing described the extent of the dishonesty as “breathtaking”, while another noted it was an extensive racket with some cases since taking years to resolve.
“This firm held itself out to visa applicants as able to secure work visas for them, while charging them considerable sums of money for visa applications,” Federal Court justices Debra Mortimer and Natalie Charlesworth said last month.
Most of the complainants taking legal action have been found to have knowingly accepted the fraudulent visa, without satisfying even the language or skills requirement, for $2500-$3500.