According to Canadian media reports the Government of British Columbia has commenced legal action to seize assets from immigration consultant Vipan Datta, his wife, Ritu, consultant Kuldeep Kaur and her husband, Harnek Singh Pannu, because they have been used in “unlawful activities.”
The BC Government alleges that Datta and Kaur are “the operating minds” behind three companies – Far East Consultants, CEC Immigration Services, and Canadian Education and Career Services (CECS). Web content published by CECS states that it provides “student recruitment for Canadian colleges and universities.”
The asset forfeiture action follows a 2018 investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency “into the activities of V. Datta and K. Kaur and their business operations including Far East, CECS Ltd. and CIS Inc. for alleged immigration offences.” The BC Government now seeks to claim $600,000 seized by CBSA investigators during property searches, and linked real estate.
The BC Government’s lawsuit alleges that Datta and Kaur and their companies:
- colluded with “prospective, purported or actual Canadian employers” to get foreign nationals immigration status in Canada through “submitting fraudulent Labour Market Impact Assessments” and then claiming that a foreign worker was needed to fill vacancies
- were involved in “payroll cycling schemes whereby the defendants and employers created employment documentation for jobs that did not exist and/or for which the foreign national was not employed, for the purpose of misrepresenting work permits, LMIAs and employment as valid in return for material gain or financial benefit”, and
- “made misrepresentations to Canadian government agencies, including Employment and Social Development Canada, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.”
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Source: Vancouver Sun
