Mumbai: Businesswoman Arrested for Role in ₹79 Lakh Visa Scam; Main Accused Still Absconding

Malad Police have arrested a woman named Alpaben Dineshkumar Nandani alias Thakkar in connection with a ₹79 lakh visa fraud case. She allegedly assisted the prime accused, Divyesh Patel, owner of P. Assil Travels, in siphoning off funds from a Bangalore-based businesswoman and another individual under the pretext of providing foreign visas. Investigations revealed that a portion of the scammed money was transferred into Alpaben’s bank account.

The complainant, Sunayana Peruri, a resident of Bangalore, runs a visa consultancy firm called Right Choice Career Advisor OPC Pvt Ltd. She assists clients in securing visas for countries like Canada and across Europe. In November 2019, she came across an advertisement for Jayvanti Allied Business Center, located at Link Road, Kachpada, Malad. The ad was linked to Divyesh Patel, who was also in the visa business.

After contacting Patel, Sunayana was told that he charged ₹3 lakh per visa. She subsequently decided to outsource her visa work to him. When she met him in Mumbai, both parties signed an agreement to process visa applications. Between 2 May 2020 and 22 September 2021, her company forwarded visa requests for 62 clients to Patel and transferred ₹92.10 lakh to his accounts—₹78.10 lakh to Patel’s account and ₹14 lakh to an employee named Yogesh Patel, as instructed by Divyesh.

Between October and December 2021, Patel claimed that three Canadian visas had been approved. However, Sunayana discovered that these were visit visas, not work visas as requested. No prior consent had been taken for this change. When she confronted Patel, he began avoiding her.

One of the travellers who used the fraudulent visa was detained in Canada, deported to India, and banned from entering Canada for three years. He also filed a case against Sunayana in a Canadian court. Meanwhile, Patel failed to process the remaining visa applications. Though he returned ₹19.34 lakh, the rest of the amount was never refunded. He had also issued eight post-dated cheques, all of which bounced.

During this period, Patel allegedly duped another person of ₹6.5 lakh under the pretense of arranging a student visa for their daughter. In total, he defrauded Sunayana and others of approximately ₹79 lakh.

Sunayana lodged a complaint at Malad Police Station, leading to an investigation. Police discovered that Alpaben had actively supported Divyesh and received some of the embezzled money in her account. Both went absconding soon after the FIR was registered.

After a year-long manhunt, police finally tracked down and arrested Alpaben Thakkar. She has been remanded to judicial custody and remains behind bars. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend Divyesh Patel, who is still at large.