New Delhi, Aug 25 (Always First) Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday said that the agency has conducted raids at the premises of Ludhiana based agency in an on-going investigation case related to Visa fraud in the French Embassy.

The CBI said that it has also recovered Rs 70.10 lakh from a bank locker and incriminating material was also seized.

“Involvement of one agent identified as Balwinder Singh Bartia based at Machhiwara of Ludhiana in facilitating issuance of Schengen VISAs to the VISA applicants also came to light. He collected cash amounts ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 45 lakh from each VISA applicant for getting Schengen VISA from the Embassy of France in Delhi,” CBI spokesperson said.

The CBI had registered a case against six persons including two who earlier worked in the Visa Department of Embassy of France in Delhi and others on the allegations of visa fraud.

CBI said that the two accused working in the visa department conspired with others and perpetrated a visa fraud during the period from January 1, 2022 to May 6, 2022.

“Applicants from Punjab and Jammu submitted fake and forged letters purportedly written by a private company based at Bengaluru to the Consulate General of France in Bengaluru for issuing entry Visas, for their joining private companies in Port-Le-Havre, France. On being approached by the applicants the said two officials in Visa Department of Embassy allegedly issued Entry Visas in favour of three other accused after taking illegal gratification of Rs 50,000 for per Visa, without the knowledge and approval of the Head of Visa Department, Embassy of France in New Delhi,” spokesperson said.

CBI said that after issuance of entry visa, the two officials displaced and destroyed the documents and files from the visa department.

It said that several files were allegedly handled by these accused which mostly pertained to individuals as young farmers or unemployed people from Punjab who had not earlier travelled and that the accused had perpetrated fraud of huge amounts in the visa department of the Embassy.

CBI said that the searches were earlier conducted on December 16 last year in Delhi, Patiala, Gurdaspur, and Jammu at the premises of the accused. During the searches incriminating documents, articles including laptop, mobile phones had been recovered.