Bangladesh arrests 6 for selling fake Maldivian visa stamps

Bangladeshi police have arrested six people for selling fraudulent entry and exit stamps of multiple countries including the Maldives to US visa applicants.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Cyber and Special Crime Unit made the arrests after the US Embassy in Dhaka filed a case with Gulshan police about the alleged fraudulent attempts.

The suspects are Palash Chandra Das, Wahid Uddin, Shafiqul Islam Sumon, Mahbubur Rahman Khan, Md Abu Zafar and Md Arifur Rahman.

Police found fake official stamps and passports in their possession.

Mohammad Tareque Bin Rashid, a deputy commissioner at DMP’s Cyber and Special Crime Unit, reported to media that some visa processing organizations submitted passports with fake seals of false information on travel to the Maldives, Malaysia and Cambodia so that officials would give importance to the applications.

In the initial interrogation, the suspects said they took Tk 1 million to 1.5 million from each applicant for the fake seals.

The police are engaged in efforts to arrest the other suspects of the syndicate that amassed tens of millions of takas from the applicants.

The US embassy said in a social media post it coordinated with the police in the operation to arrest the six suspects.

“US visa applicants are responsible for the information they provide on visa application forms and any documents they provide at the interview. The best guidance for prospective visa applicants is to review information on the US Embassy website, be prepared for their interview with any supporting documentation, and provide factual and truthful answers during the visa process and interviews,” said the embassy.