A Pakistani citizen living in Finland is suspected of having issued several visas and forged Finnish residence cards to Pakistanis for several years, according to investigation by the Turku Crime Prevention Unit of the Coast Guard.
The Turku Crime Prevention Unit of the Coast Guard has investigated a case in which a Pakistani citizen living in Finland is suspected of having issued several visas and forged Finnish residence cards to Pakistanis for several years. Operations have been run from Turku.
According to Yle, the investigation of the case started this summer because one Pakistani citizen contacted the Finnish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and inquired about the delay in his residence permit. The person had paid 6,000 euros to a man living in Finland who had promised to help with permit arrangements.
The Western Finland Coast Guard describes in its bulletin the case that initiated the investigation that he presented a document resembling the final document of the Finnish Immigration Service, which he had received from a criminal suspect, and a photograph of his own residence card. On the basis of the submitted documents, he would have been granted a residence permit in Finland.
Different crimes uncovered during preliminary investigation
The preliminary investigation revealed that visa and residence permit forgeries had already started in 2016. At that time, the suspect had arranged visas with 10 other Pakistanis for 10-12 Pakistanis to Poland for a religious event, but the real purpose of the trip was to stay in Europe. Seven of the party applied for asylum in Finland.
The investigation also revealed that in 2019 the suspect had tried to arrange visas on the wrong grounds for Pakistani families. Based on the interrogations, the three families were to stay in Finland permanently. The families had paid less than 12,000 euros for visas to the suspect.
According to the Western Finland Coast Guard, in connection with this crime, the suspect also falsified his own bank statements in order to facilitate obtaining visas.
As recently as last year, the man is suspected of forging 12 residence permits for Pakistanis. For some, the suspect has also falsified the decision of the Finnish Immigration Service in the case of a residence permit. The man had taken a fee of about 6,000 euros for the forged residence permits.
Over the years, the Pakistani is suspected of benefiting from criminal activity up to more than 50,000 euros.
The main perpetrator is suspected of e.g. aggravated illegal immigration, aggravated fraud and aggravated counterfeiting. There are four suspects in the crime group, three of whom have been reached during the preliminary investigation.
The preliminary investigation has been completed and the crime will be transferred to the prosecution area of Western Finland for prosecution.
