A special court in Lahore has handed down a combined 60-year prison sentence to the owner of an immigration consultancy after convicting him in four separate cases related to human smuggling and visa fraud.

As per the details the court concluded proceedings against Zulqarnain Asad, who runs Global Citizenship Solutions (GCS), a firm offering immigration and overseas job services for Europe, Canada and Australia.

In case number 177/2023, the court awarded 15 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs1.7 million. In case 269/2023, he received another 15-year term and a fine of Rs1 million. In case 240/2023, the court imposed 15 years of rigorous imprisonment with a Rs1 million fine while in case 244/2023, he was given 15 years in prison and fined Rs1.2 million.

“These sentences were made possible owing to the strong investigation conducted by the FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] and the effective prosecution by its legal team. The court accepted the evidence presented by FIA and announced the verdict accordingly,” an agency official said.

FIA Director General (DG) Dr Usman Anwar also commended Lahore Director Capt (r) Muhammad Ali Zia and the investigation team for building the case, noting that such convictions act as a deterrent against crime.

Asad was taken into custody by the FIA Lahore in February 2023 after multiple complaints from individuals in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Multan, accusing him of defrauding them of millions under the pretext of immigration services.

Investigators found that GCS had collected large sums from people seeking Canadian immigration, jobs in Australia and European citizenship through investment schemes.

Following the scale of the case, the FIA constituted a five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to examine the allegations.

One complainant told a private media outlet that he approached the Lahore office of GCS for immigration to Canada and initially paid over Rs1.1 million.

“The GCS team told me that it followed the legitimate immigration process that was entirely transparent and according to IRCC Canada. Instead, it sent me fake screenshots of the portal, and nominations from British Columbia Canada, ITA [International Trade Admission] & AOR [Acknowledgement of Recipients]. Despite numerous visits to GCS and meetings with their associates to verify the above-mentioned bogus documents, they always denied verification,” he said.

“This fraud has shattered me psychologically. I am suffering from depression and am also under a large debt,” said the victim, who is a qualified professional.

The consultancy had also been promoted online by at least two female models, an actor and host, and a former Test cricketer, describing its services as “the best”.

GCS operated offices in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.

The FIA has not issued any statement regarding compensation for victims through the sale of the firm’s assets.