B.C. immigration consultants' licences suspended following criminal charges

A couple of Langley, B.C., immigrationconsultantswho face dozens of immigration fraud-related chargeshave had their licences to practice suspended by their profession's regulatory authority.

The Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council's (ICCRC) discipline committee ordered the suspension of Rupinder "Ron" Batthand Navdeep Batth'slicenceslast Thursday.

In September, the pair were charged with 69 counts under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, following an investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) into alleged fraud.

The charges include counselling or attempting to counsel misrepresentation or helping people misrepresent facts related to their immigration, knowingly misrepresenting or withholding facts that can induce error in administration, and communicating false information with regard to someone's immigration.

Rupinder Batth faces 54 counts, while Navdeep Batth faces 15.

The two served as directorsfor Can-Asia Immigration Consulting, which had its Surrey office raided by the CBSA in 2017.

ICCRCbegan the process to suspend the Batth's licencesto work as immigration consultants in early October, just days after receiving information from CBSA about its investigation.

Despite the motion being labelled "urgent," it took months for the discipline committee to order theinterim suspensions.

The committee has ordered the suspensions to remain in place until the criminal proceedings have concluded, including sentencing, if applicable. After proceedings are complete, the suspensions will be assessed to determine whether they'll be continued or cancelled.

Ultimately, the Batths could have their ICCRC memberships revoked, but any decision on that measure won't be made until the ongoing legal process has run its course, according to the new order from ICCRC.

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