Licences of two immigration consultants suspended as they face criminal charges

Vancouver — Two immigration consultants who live in Langley have had their licences suspended after they were charged with 69 combined counts of fraud by Canada Border Services.

The suspensions of Navdeep Batth and Rupinder Batth came down on Jan. 28 from the disciplinary committee of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council.

Navdeep and Rupinder both face charges for misrepresenting facts and counselling others to do the same in Surrey. The incidents are alleged to have happened between 2014 and 2017, and the allegations against the pair have not been proven in court.

Specifically, Navdeep faces 15 counts for “counselling misrepresentation” under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Rupinder faces 49 counts of misrepresentation under the act and five counts of counselling misrepresentation.

The charges from the Canada Border Services Agency were filed in September of 2020. Then in October, the regulatory council issued an interim suspension of the consultants “on the basis there are reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary to protect the public interest and the public’s confidence in the immigration consulting profession.”

According to the disciplinary documents Navdeep became an immigration consultant registered with the council in Nov. 2019. Details on Rupinder’s date of certification are not included.

Both consultants signed declarations accepting the suspension and affirming that “all information, records, and client files” from Jan. 2011 to present “that may be related to the (charges)” had been seized by the Canadian Border Services Agency. They also declared that they are “not in possession of either physical or electronic copies” of said documents.

The suspensions may be reviewed after the courts provide a ruling on the charges.