CHIGASAKI, JAPAN – A 44-year-old Sri Lankan man, Mohamed Irfan, was arrested on July 7 on suspicion of orchestrating a visa fraud scheme that helped fellow Sri Lankans illegally gain residency in Japan through falsified business documents.
Authorities allege that Irfan, a resident of Chigasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, created a fake car dealership in December 2023 and submitted fraudulent financial statements. This allowed one Sri Lankan man to secure a business manager visa by falsely claiming to be the head of the company.
Irfan has denied the allegations, but police say his case is part of a larger, ongoing investigation that has uncovered a network of at least nine Sri Lankans believed to have obtained residency through similar means.
Fake Firms, Real Consequences
Investigators believe Irfan operated a complex scheme involving hundreds of shell companies—businesses with no legitimate operations—used to fabricate employment records and financial documents. These were then submitted to immigration authorities to obtain visas fraudulently.
In some cases, Sri Lankans were granted engineer/specialist in humanities/international services visas by posing as skilled workers. Later, they were repositioned as company “executives” and used the fake companies again to apply for business manager visas.
Police say they have seized records for over 600 businesses linked to Irfan, most of which are suspected to be dummy firms.
High Costs, Broken Promises
Victims described being lured into the scheme with false promises of well-paying jobs and the opportunity to bring their families to Japan. Many paid brokers between 500,000 and 1 million yen (approx. $3,400–$6,800 USD) to secure entry.
Once in Japan, instead of working in skilled roles, many were pushed into manual labor like construction and demolition. Some were forced to live in overcrowded apartments, share rooms, and pay ongoing fees for job placements, visa changes, and fake documentation—sometimes bringing their total cost to over 100,000 yen more.
“I was tricked. I couldn’t even send money home,” one man told police. “But I had no choice because I needed to repay my debts.”
Authorities continue to investigate the full scope of the fraud and are urging anyone with relevant information to come forward. More arrests are expected as the case unfolds.
