Police warns public against a group of fraudsters issuing fake Swedish visas
By Charles Atwiine
Police has warned the general public that there is a group of fraudster issuing fake Swedish Visas to unsuspecting members of the public.
The said fraudsters operate in such a way that they obtain money from the victims and in turn promise to process and issue them with Swedish Visas and work permits.
Police has so far received a number of complaints from various victims, and we have commenced investigations into the matter under CID headquarters GEF 1180/2020.
The culprits have been identified, profiled and efforts are underway to ensure they are arrested and brought to book.
We appeal to the public to be on a look out and report any person suspected to be involved in such fraudulent tractions to CID headquarters.
“We also appeal to members of the Public to seek consular services from the Embassies or official designated places,” says police spokesman.
There are also fake homepages about visas. Some time ago the Consulate General warned of websites which offer assistance in submitting applications for Schengen visas. On the websites, assistance is offered to reserve a time slot for submission of visa applications to The Consulate General and assistance with the application. These homepages also offers assistants concerning residence permit. The services are offered to a very high fee.
These certain homepages claim to belong to VFS Global, the service company that receives and distributes visa applications on behalf of The Consulate General. Please do not rely on this websites.
The Consulate General in Istanbul only cooperates with VFS Global concerning submission and distribution of visa applications.
However, this is not new. In 2016 reports revealed that a Foreign Ministry official who worked with visa issues at a Swedish embassy in Asia issued dozens of fake Swedish visas, according to an investigation by the Migration Agency.
Swedish Radio claimed that it had evidence that the Foreign Ministry knew about problems associated with processing visas for over a year but took no action.
In total, 70 visas for Afghan nationals were falsely issued, mostly in 2015, according to the Migration Agency.
The investigation showed that the man, among other things, changed a colleague’s correct visa refusal to consent, and approved numerous fake documents. They were so clumsily made that they were dismissed as fakes immediately by the immigration agency.
The investigation also found out that the people who used the false documents in several cases sought asylum in Sweden and it was all connected to professional smuggling.
“It is extremely serious. All situations where officials violate the rules intentionally and falsely grant permits is extremely serious,” says Magnus Rodin, the the Migration Agency Acting Regional Manager Stockholm, to Swedish Radio.
The suspect was employed at the Swedish Migration Agency, but he was on leave during the time he worked for the Foreign Ministry at the embassy.
The Migration Agency’s oversight unit recommended that the man should be fired and prosecuted. But the Staff Disciplinary Board waited for a more thorough investigation before deciding.
The man denied the claims and his lawyer, Jan Södergren, told Swedish Radio that the allegations are “outrageous” and “unfounded”.