COUNTRY FRAUD PROFILE: MOZAMBIQUE

UNCLAS MAPUTO 000149 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS KFRD MZ KCRM SUBJECT: COUNTRY FRAUD PROFILE: MOZAMBIQUE ¶1. (SBU) Consular Fraud Summary: Mozambique's porous borders, underpaid and ill-equipped border security forces, and lack of technological infrastructure make it an inviting transit country for mala fide travelers, immigrant smugglers and immigrant traffickers. Mozambican passports and residency permits can be easily obtained through the payment of bribes to immigration officials, and are also available through other illegal channels. It is difficult for Post to obtain detailed information or statistics on immigrant smuggling and trafficking from Mozambican officials as often times written records are not kept, or information is inadequately recorded. Post has also encountered a general unwillingness on the part of the Mozambican government to share immigration fraud-related information that may later implicate immigration or police officials. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Country Conditions: Twice the size of California with over 1700 miles of extended coastline, Mozambique has geography that plays an important political and economic role. A Portuguese colony until gaining independence in 1975, Mozambique is defined by three east-west corridors: towards South Africa in the south; Zimbabwe in the center; and Malawi/Zambia in the north. Approximately 20% of the population is Muslim, a percentage concentrated primarily in the northern provinces. Despite steady economic development since the end of the devastating civil war in 1992, Mozambique remains one of the world's poorest countries with more than 40% of its citizens surviving on less than $1 per day. Corruption is one of the paramount problems facing the democratic development of Mozambique, and contributes significantly to the growing problem of immigrant smuggling and trafficking. The majority of people being smuggled or trafficked are bound for South Africa, but some groups - most recently, Somalis -- have also been known to travel through Mozambique to South Africa, and on to Brazil, with a view to gaining access to the U.S. through the Western Hemisphere. Mozambique is also battling a growing HIV/AIDS problem, with an infection rate estimated at approximately 15% of adults. ¶3. (SBU) Visa Fraud: Imposter fraud is the most frequently encountered type of fraud in Maputo. Mozambican nationality and identity documents (as well as residency permits) are easily obtained on either the black market, or by bribing immigration officials. Third-country national applicants posing as Mozambican citizens, and third-country national applicants presenting Mozambican residency permits must be thoroughly scrutinized by interviewing consular officers to assess Portuguese language ability, familiarity with the country and culture, and economic ties. Approximately 22% of NIV applicants are third-country nationals. The countries representing the largest number of applicants, beginning with the most prevalent, are Nigeria, South Africa, Guinea, Pakistan, India, Brazil, Congo, and Tanzania. Post has also processed applications for nationals of China, Cuba, and Lebanon in the last six months. Document fraud is less prevalent but more difficult to detect as official documents often lack uniformity and/or security features, and even legitimate documents are often of poor quality - printed with dot matrix printers or handwritten. ¶4. (SBU)ACS Fraud: Incidents of ACS fraud are rare, although in the last year, Post has seen several cases of Lebanese nationals, who are naturalized U.S. citizens, applying for U.S. citizenship for their children. In each case, the applicant father has insisted he meets the physical presence requirements for transmission, but has been unable to provide adequate evidence. One man presented 1040 tax forms filled out by hand and backdated to 1986 and 1987.