Indian hotelier under scanner for suspected immigration fraud

Sydney, July 30, 2010:

The owner of two Indian restaurants here has come under the scanner of Australian authorities after it was revealed that he allegedly accepted money to prepare fake documents for migrant workers seeking permanent residency.

Arun Bose, the owner of the Tribeni and Kashi restaurants and former director of Saai Bose Pty Ltd, asked his staff to pay between $1,300 and $12,000 for help in gaining permanent residency, former chef of the restaurants Nandalcumaran Krishnakanth told the Fair Work Australia, a workplace relations tribunal.

In return for the money, Bose would fill out fake skills certificates showing that the staff had completed the 900 hours of work experience needed to apply for permanent residency, Krishnakanth claimed.

"Bose would say, 'Pay me $1,300 and I'll give you the certificate that you worked as a chef and performed certain duties'," Krishnakanth was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

The certificate would be provided whether the person worked for the restaurant or not, he said.

Krishnakanth said Bose also asked for money to provide glowing work references to assist in the application process, the daily reported Friday.

The tribunal was also shown an extract of Bose's time and wages record in which four months of records appeared to have been filled out at the same time.

Peter Sams, the tribunal's deputy president, said the entries were "most suspicious" and appeared to have been back-dated.

Bose denied the allegations, saying nothing was falsified and all legal requirements were met with during his time as director. He sold the company last year and it is now in liquidation.

"There was one 457 (visa) employee who claimed unfair dismissal," Bose said. "He was making stories."

Fair Work Australia has referred the matter to the Department of Immigration, which is investigating the case.