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- FRAUD SUMMARY - MALAWI
- Date:
- 2009 November 16, 10:09 (Monday)
- Canonical ID:
- 09LILONGWE613_a
- Original Classification:
- UNCLASSIFIED
- Current Classification:
- UNCLASSIFIED
- Handling Restrictions
- -- Not Assigned --
- Character Count:
- 11685
- Executive Order:
- -- Not Assigned --
- Locator:
- TEXT ONLINE
- TAGS:
- ASEC - Administration--Security | CMGT - Consular Affairs--Consular Administration and Management | CPAS - Consular Affairs--Passports and Citzenship | CVIS - Consular Affairs--Visas | KFRD - Fraud Prevention Programs | MI - Malawi
- Concepts:
- -- Not Assigned --
- Enclosure:
- -- Not Assigned --
- Type:
- TE - Telegram (cable)
- Office Origin:
- -- N/A or Blank --
- Office Action:
- -- N/A or Blank --
- Archive Status:
- -- Not Assigned --
- From:
- Malawi Lilongwe
- Markings:
- -- Not Assigned --
- To:
- RUEHPNH NVC PORTSMOUTH | Secretary of State | South Africa Johannesburg
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- (D)05 STATE 205073; (E)03 STATE 340565; (F)00 STATE 98138
- 1. Per reftel (a), Post submits the following semi-annual report for
- the period March 2009 through August 2009.
- ------------------
- COUNTRY CONDITIONS
- ------------------
- 2. Landlocked Malawi is one of the world's most densely populated
- and least developed countries. The economy is predominately
- agricultural with approximately two-thirds of the population living
- in poverty. The Malawi Government faces many challenges including
- developing a market economy, improving educational facilities,
- dealing with the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS, maintaining fiscal
- discipline and reinforcing anti-corruption practices. Faced with the
- difficulty of improving one's economic situation, Malawians often
- seek a better life elsewhere. The United States remains an
- attractive destination for some of those individuals.
- 3. Lilongwe is a medium-low fraud post. Malawian passports and
- residency permits, along with most civil documents, can be obtained
- with falsified identity information. This situation, coupled with
- its porous borders, understaffed and ill-equipped immigration and
- law enforcement offices, makes Malawi a highly attractive target for
- mala fide travelers and immigrant traffickers. In view of Malawi's
- location on the land transit route from East Africa to South Africa,
- many refugees, asylum seekers, and other parties headed to South
- Africa often seek fraudulently obtained identity documents in
- Malawi. Malawian government officials recognize the susceptibility
- of their country to these challenges and threats, but thus far have
- been unable to take effective action to curb this security failing.
- ---------
- NIV FRAUD
- ---------
- 4. NIV fraud is generally unsophisticated, with a sizable number of
- cases committed by third country nationals posing as Malawian
- citizens or residents. In the past, Ethiopians, Eritreans,
- Pakistanis, Somalis, Burundians, Rwandans, Zimbabweans and DRC
- nationals have been discovered illegally transiting Malawi. These
- individuals are known to have obtained illegitimate documents and
- passports for travel to South Africa and the US. Post has not
- detected any organized fraud in Malawi. Typically, consular
- officers do not rely on documentation submitted by applicants
- because of its susceptibility to fraud.
- 5. During the reporting period, post detected an applicant who
- assumed the identity of a previously refused applicant. The mala
- fide applicant used the prior applicant's passport and photo as his
- appearance and facial features were similar to the prior applicant.
- The mala fide applicant was refused after Post detected his
- attempted subterfuge. Subsequently, the prior applicant, who Post
- believes was complicit in the fraud, refused to cooperate with
- Post's investigation into the matter.
- 6. Post has experienced a decrease in student visa fraud in the
- years since the Malawi government added enhanced security features
- to Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) certificates
- (roughly equivalent to high school diplomas), making them less
- susceptible to alteration.
- 7. We continue to experience a large number of travelers "sponsored"
- by various churches, religious groups and individual missionaries in
- the United States. Given the large number of religious-related
- avenues available to travel to the United States, church affiliation
- is viewed in Malawi as an effective method to obtain a visa. These
- travelers typically apply with another person who is clearly
- approvable or has already been to the United States and returned.
- For example, Post handled a large number of applicants seeking to
- attend the Seventh Day Adventist Youth Camporee in Wisconsin this
- past August. Post coordinated checks with both the local Church and
- Church leaders in the United States in an attempt to eliminate mala
- fide applicants. When detected, Post applies appropriate
- ineligibilities for these individuals who knowingly used their
- position and/or travel history to advance the applications of
- unqualified applicants.
- --------
- IV FRAUD
- --------
- 8. IV fraud generally relates to the IV application process rather
- than the applicant's relationship to the petitioner. Many of our IV
- cases deal with third country nationals (TCN) who reside in Malawi.
- Verification of documentation in these cases is extremely
- LILONGWE 00000613 002 OF 003
- challenging.
- --------
- DV FRAUD
- --------
- 9. N/A. Post's DV cases are handled and processed by Embassy Harare.
- ---------------------------
- ACS AND U.S. PASSPORT FRAUD
- ---------------------------
- 10. Post has not detected any cases involving ACS or passport fraud
- during the reporting period. With our low ACS load, Post is able to
- give considerable oversight and review of our passport and CRBA
- cases.
- --------------
- ADOPTION FRAUD
- --------------
- 11. Adoption fraud is not yet an issue in Malawi. Malawi's
- restrictive adoption laws and requirements have so far deterred most
- AMCITs interested in pursuing inter-country adoptions. Previously,
- most adoptions petitions were processed through the I-130 process
- and Post is able to undertake in-depth reviews of the documentation
- and the orphan status of the adoptee child. However, in a recent
- hi-profile adoption court case, the Malawi Supreme Court rendered a
- decision which may serve to open the door to increased inter-country
- adoptions. Post has already experienced a significant percentage
- increase in I-600 adoption cases with NVC forwarding five approved
- I-600As in the last two months alone. Normally, Post might receive
- one or two I-600s for an entire year. Post will track this trend
- and report on any developments.
- ------------------
- USE OF DNA TESTING
- ------------------
- 12. Post did not conduct DNA testing during the reporting period.
- ----------------------------------
- ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD
- ----------------------------------
- 13. Post did not handle any asylum or DHS benefit cases during the
- reporting period. Post did, however, receive approved Visas 92/93
- cases from the National Visa Center (NVC). Establishing the
- relationship between petitioners and beneficiaries is difficult in
- such cases and Post has limited resources to carry out
- investigations to establish relationships between the petitioners
- and the beneficiaries. Visas 92 and 93 beneficiaries are typically
- not citizens or permanent residents of Malawi. If possible, the
- Department of Homeland Security and United States Citizenship and
- Immigration Service (DHS/USCIS) should provide additional
- information that could help establish relationships between the
- petitioners and beneficiaries. For example documents that could
- assist Post in establishing relationships may include birth
- certificates or records, marriage certificates, national
- identification cards, school records, church records, family
- photographs, health records, home village addresses, home town area
- addresses, province/region or district addresses, occupational
- records, clan or tribe, mother language, father language, last
- address before travel to the US, and/or any other relevant
- information that could lead to confirming family relationships.
- --------------------------------------------- -----
- ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, ORGANIZED CRIME, AND TERRORIST TRAVEL
- --------------------------------------------- -----
- 14. Per Paragraphs 3 and 4 above, Malawi serves as a transit country
- for third country nationals enroute to South Africa. According to
- Malawian Authorities, smugglers reportedly charge aliens transiting
- Malawi the equivalent of $1400 U.S. dollars.
- --------------------------------
- DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS
- --------------------------------
- 15. The Regional Security Office and Consular Section have a strong
- working relationship and have frequently collaborated on cases and
- issues of concern.
- --------------------------------------------- --------
- HOST COUNTRY PASSPORTS, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL REGISTRY
- --------------------------------------------- --------
- LILONGWE 00000613 003 OF 003
- 16. Malawi's primary identity documents (passports, birth
- certificates, etc.) create the biggest challenge for Post's fraud
- prevention efforts. Genuine documents containing fraudulent
- information are the biggest threat. Most documents are easily
- obtained by applicants from any area or level of socio-economic
- status. Birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage
- certificates are often created many years after the event and merely
- reflect the attestation of the individual requesting the document.
- Malawi's lack of document controls means that corruption and bribery
- are not essential to receive any new document desired. Malawi's
- Commissioner of Immigration has informed us that a new, more secure
- passport may be issued early in 2010.
- --------------------------------------------
- COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES
- --------------------------------------------
- 17. Post has received satisfactory cooperation from host country
- counterparts. While Malawian Immigration and Police Officials have
- been very cooperative with our requests to verify documents and
- cooperate with investigations, Malawi does not have sufficient
- resources, training or expertise to counter the gaps in the security
- of their identity documents. Post is working to provide the GOM with
- Department sponsored training in this regard.
- ---------------------------
- AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN
- ---------------------------
- 18. The availability of genuine identity documents using false
- information is a significant concern. As a general rule, most
- Malawians do not obtain an identity document until they are an
- adult. At that juncture, as long as they have a friend or relative
- willing to attest to their chosen "identity", they can receive a
- birth certificate which is then used to obtain an official
- government identity document such as a passport. This fact, coupled
- with Malawi's porous borders and its location as a transit route in
- proximity to East African nations known to harbor terrorists and
- criminals, raises the specter of mala fide travelers obtaining U.S.
- visas or Malawi passports through fraud.
- ---------------------
- STAFFING AND TRAINING
- ---------------------
- 19. Post's Consular Section consists of one Consular Officer, one
- EFM and one LES - there is no dedicated FPU. The Consul has
- extensive experience and attended FSI's Advanced Consular Course,
- and has previously attended FSI's Analytic Interviewing and Advanced
- Consular Name checking Techniques courses.
- 20. The LES Consular Assistant is designated the fraud investigator
- for the consular section and has received OJT. This LES (along with
- Consul) have developed excellent working relations with the local
- and national-level Malawi authorities including Immigration, Police,
- Airline representatives, and the Malawi National Examination and
- Testing Board (MANEB). The LES Consular Assistant has not received
- formal fraud training, and was recently denied a training seat in
- the November 2009 FSN Fraud course. Post has been promised serious
- consideration for the March 2010 convening of this course.
- BODDE
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