A Bangladeshi man used his brother’s identity to obtain New Zealand citizenship for himself and visas for his wife and mother in a fraudulent scheme stretching back 20 years.
Jahangir Alam and his wife Taj Parvin Shilpi were on Friday found guilty of 40 charges of supplying false and misleading information after a 13-day jury trial at the Auckland District Court.
Alam used his brother’s identity to obtain a visitor visa to enter New Zealand before subsequently securing a work permit, residence visa, citizenship and two passports.
He also used the false identity to support 14 applications for immigration permits and visas for his wife, Shilpi and one for his mother. The visa application for his mother was denied and she never entered the country.
Immigration New Zealand said that “both Alam and Shilpi knew that Alam was not using his genuine identity” while making the applications.
The department also revealed that Alam’s real name and date of birth was still unknown, as was the reason he used the false identity. The couple pleaded not guilty in court, denied all the charges and claimed that Alam had not used a false name.
Steve Watson, General Manager Immigration Compliance & Investigations at Immigration New Zealand said the conviction sent a strong message to visa fraudsters.
“This kind of offending strikes at the heart of the immigration system, undermining its integrity. We expect applicants to provide honest and complete information to show that they meet the requirements to be granted a visa, or to be allowed to enter New Zealand. Anyone who provides false information to Immigration New Zealand will be investigated and held to account for their actions,” he said.
“An investigation of this scale is extremely complex, and I’m incredibly proud of our dedicated investigations team who worked across the immigration system to thoroughly investigate this case and eventually bring it before the courts six years later.”
“We were able to identify this criminal offending, prevent further offences from being committed and ultimately hold Alam and Shilpi accountable.”
The couple will be sentenced on May 22.
Header image: Auckland District Court (Google Street View).
