Visa fraud case: Why BLS International shares tanked 13% today; clarification issued

Shares of  BLS International Services Ltd plunge 13 per cent in Monday's trade after a Spanish media report suggested the Spanish National Court has expanded its investigation into the alleged visa fraud case at the Spanish consulate in Algiers, with the investigation now extended to BLS International Ltd, the firm contracted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to manage in-person appointments at consulates for visa applications and other consular services.

The report by The Objective suggested that investigation led by the judge specifically mentioned processing platforms like BLS, saying the bribes sometimes reached 25,000 euros per family. This figure was already revealed by police sources following recent arrests in April. Business Today could not independently verify the report. Following the development, BLS International shares fell 12.73 per cent to hit a low of Rs 236.85 on BSE.

The Spanish report suggested that the outsourcing of this visa appointment scheduling process had begun in 2011 with another Indian company, VFS Global , meaning that this Ministry of Foreign Affairs contract has consistently been awarded to companies from the Asian giant.

BLS International issues clarification

"BLS International categorically rejects any involvement in the alleged irregularities referred to in media reports. There is no evidence establishing any wrongdoing by BLS International or its employees in relation to the issuance of visas. BLS International’s role is strictly administrative and is carried out in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the competent authorities," the company said.

All decisions relating to the processing and issuance or refusal of visas rest solely with the relevant diplomatic and consular authorities, it said addingthat BLS International remains committed to the highest standards of integrity, transparency, compliance and service delivery, and to its role as a trusted service partner to governments and citizens across the world.

BLS International: Business background

Established in 2005, BLS has evolved into a leading global provider of technology-enabled visa, passport, consular and citizen services. The company partners with governments and diplomatic missions to provide outsourced application processing, biometric enrolment, document handling and other front-end services, while the final decision-making on visa applications remains with the respective government authorities. 

BLS currently serves 46-plus client governments across the globe and has processed more than 36 crore applications globally.

"Recovery in visa volumes, a strong tender pipeline, increasing monetization of the Visa network and continued expansion of Digital Services are expected to be the key growth drivers. Recent mandates from Belarus, Portugal, Slovakia and Italy, along with the ramp-up of Slovakia and Cyprus operations, provide near-term volume visibility. Visa operations in China are also picking up, offering additional growth opportunity as bilateral relations normalize. BLS continues to focus on higher pricing, favorable revenue mix and value-added services to improve monetization per application," PL Capital said on August 21. 

The brokerage did not offer any rating or target on the BLS International stock. 

Over the years, BLS has expanded beyond its core Visa & Consular Services business into Digital Services, providing business correspondent, e-governance and assisted digital services to governments, banks and financial institutions in India. The company has also strengthened its capabilities through acquisitions and new mandates, broadening its exposure to citizen services, financial inclusion and government-tocitizen (G2C) services.