Dodgy Canada admissions, fees in ED’s emigration probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating an extensive network of agents and facilitators in India, the US and Canada who help people illegally enter the US after first securing bogus admissions in Canadian colleges. Officials in the agency estimate that they have ascertained that at least 370 Indians used this route to illegally enter the US between September 2021 and August 2024, and suspect the number could be higher.

The officials cited above said the agency has found that the fees to the Canadian colleges was paid through a financial services company with around 8,500 transactions being made by Gujarat-based students in the period under investigation. Of these 8,500 transactions, 4,300 transactions are suspicious, or “duplicate”, the agency’s investigations found.

According to a press statement by the agency in December and a recent probe report reviewed by HT, the operation worked in three stages:

First, agents in India would arrange admissions in Canadian colleges for individuals wanting to enter the US illegally. These aspirants would then obtain legitimate Canadian student visas.

Then, instead of attending classes after reaching Canada, these individuals would attempt to cross the US-Canada border illegally, the agency said in its press statement.

Finally, the college fees would be returned to the individuals’ accounts, ED alleged.

It is these reverse transfers that the agency suspects as “duplicate transactions”, which came to around 4,300 of the 8,500 made by through the financial services company under its scanner.

The agency, people cited above added, is now exploring whether these 4,300 transactions originated from individuals who used the universities route to enter the US or Canada. They said that they believe many of these transactions can be traced to a few agents.

The Parliament has seen disruptions on the issue of deportation of illegal immigrants by the US to India earlier this week. A US military aircraft carrying 104 deported Indians landed in Amritsar on Wednesday.

On Friday, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said that there were up to 487 Indian citizens who were under “final removal orders” in America. Misri added that details for 298 of these individuals have been provided, and are being verified by the government.

The ED officials said this investigation is linked to the death of four members of an Indian family from Dingucha village in Gujarat, who died from exposure trying to cross the Canada-US border illegally on January 19, 2022.

The agency has been looking at the role of agents in Gujarat and Punjab who organise such trips.

It added that over 260 colleges in Canada, which are on its radar, had agreements with agents based in both India and Canada.

One agent named Fenil Kantilal Patel, is based in Canada, the report said.