A large-scale visa fraud racket has been exposed, cheating Nepali job-seekers.
New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has successfully cracked a large-scale visa fraud racket that deceived 19 Nepali citizens of nearly Rs70 lakh by falsely assuring them of employment opportunities in Serbia. Two prime suspects — Jayakab (41) and Rupesh (42) — have been taken into custody, while efforts are underway to trace the remaining members of the gang who are still absconding.
The case came to light after a formal complaint was lodged on August 22 by Sujan Khadka (22), a Nepali national residing temporarily at Paharganj, Delhi. In his statement, Khadka claimed that he and 18 other Nepali individuals had fallen prey to fraudsters who lured them with promises of Serbian work visas in return for heavy payments.
As per police investigations, the accused first made contact with the victims in April 2024 at Jagjeet Nagar, Seelampur. Introducing themselves as well-connected travel facilitators with overseas links, they showcased fabricated Serbian job offer letters and counterfeit visas to win over the trust of the job-seekers. Believing their claims, the victims surrendered their original passports and were persuaded to deposit €3,500 each (amounting to nearly Rs70 lakh in total) through QR code-based transactions routed into accounts linked with the accused’s associates.
By July 2025, all 19 victims travelled to Delhi from Nepal, anticipating that their passports, now affixed with valid Serbian visas, would be returned to them so they could board flights abroad. However, instead of delivering the promised documents, the accused began dodging the victims and avoided any direct interaction. When the complainants eventually tracked down Jayakab at his residence in Seelampur and demanded the return of their passports and money, he not only refused but also issued threats to their lives and safety. Verification later confirmed that the visas and documents previously shown to them were forged and fraudulent.
On the basis of the complaint, a case was promptly registered with the Crime Branch. Acting on the lead, a team of officers apprehended Jayakab, a resident of Greater Noida, and recovered 13 original Nepali passports along with a mobile phone containing incriminating digital evidence. During interrogation, he disclosed the involvement of three of his close associates — Sachin, George @ Bijoj, and Rupesh.
Soon after, a follow-up raid was conducted that resulted in the arrest of Rupesh, who lives in Chhawla, Delhi. Another mobile phone, used for fraudulent conversations and transactions, was seized from him. However, the other co-accused remain untraced, and police teams are pursuing multiple leads to apprehend them.Financial probes have so far revealed that the racket facilitated the transfer of nearly Rs60 lakh from Nepal to India via hawala operators. The funds were initially collected in Nepal and routed through accounts arranged by an accomplice, Ashish Pandey, before being withdrawn in India. A substantial portion — close to Rs20 lakh — was later deposited into accounts belonging to the wife and acquaintances of the prime accused.
Vikram Singh, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), said, “This case brings to the forefront the growing threat posed by visa fraud syndicates that exploit vulnerable foreign nationals with the false promise of jobs overseas. The Crime Branch is determined to crack down on such networks and ensure justice for those affected. We expect further arrests and recoveries in the coming days.”
Moreover, background checks on the arrested individuals revealed that Jayakab, originally from Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh) and educated in Uttarakhand, is fluent in the Nepali language — a skill he misused to win the trust of the victims while posing as a genuine travel agent.
Meanwhile, Rupesh, a native of Siwan (Bihar), has been operating as a travel agent in Delhi for the past 15 years. Investigators believe he has been closely associated with Jayakab for over four years, and together they had been targeting not only Nepali nationals but also Indian youths by offering fake promises of lucrative jobs in Serbia, Gulf countries, and several parts of Europe. During questioning, both accused confessed that they had previously engaged in similar fraudulent practices, duping unsuspecting aspirants by seizing their passports and collecting huge sums ranging from Rs5–10 lakh per person.
The Delhi Police has once again appealed to the public, particularly job-seekers from abroad, to exercise extreme caution and thoroughly verify the credentials of any agent or recruiter before parting with money or handing over important documents such as passports.
