Ahmedabad: Promised Canadian job visas, a 44-year-old woman from Thaltej and another woman allegedly lost more than Rs 1.1 crore in Ahmedabad. They have accused three agents of taking the money, using bank accounts to route suspicious transactions and issuing fake visa-related documents.Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) registered a complaint on Oct 28, while Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has begun probing the alleged fraud.According to the complaint filed by the 44-year-old, who owns a beauty parlour, a relative introduced her to two agents in July 2025. The agents allegedly connected her to a WhatsApp group call with a US-based manThe trio allegedly promised to arrange a Canadian work permit for the woman and dependent visas for her husband and son within six months. They allegedly demanded Rs 55 lakh to process the application.The woman told police she paid in cash and through bank transfers. Of the amount, Rs 25 lakh was initially handed over through her relative, she alleged.When her passport was returned without a visa stamp in Nov 2025, the agents allegedly told her that Canadian visa rules had changed. They then allegedly asked her to open a DBS Bank account to show financial transactions.The complainant said she shared copies of her Aadhaar and PAN cards and provided three one-time passwords (OTPs) at the US-based man’s request. She alleged that the agents operated the account and carried out transactions while she received only text-message alerts.In Dec 2025, the agents allegedly asked her to courier her passport to an address in Delhi. They allegedly returned it in Feb with a visa stamp.They later sent her a purported labour market impact assessment (LMIA) letter and an air ticket for March 11. The woman became suspicious when she found that the ticket did not carry a passenger name record (PNR), police said.When she sought the original ticket and job-related documents, the agents allegedly gave evasive replies, blocked her number and stopped responding.The complaint also names another woman, who allegedly lost Rs 50 lakh in a similar scheme. The two women were allegedly cheated of a combined Rs 1.1 crore.The FIR also flags suspicious transactions of around Rs 80 lakh through the first complainant’s DBS account and Rs 1.7 crore through the second complainant’s account. EOW is examining the transactions, the alleged forged documents and the roles of the three accused.
