DAKAR FRAUD SUMMARY - FIRST QUARTER FY2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000355 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR CA/FPP AND AF/W DEPT PLS PASS TO KCC PARIS FOR DHS/ICE ECOWAS POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS KFRD CPAS CMGT ASEC KSTC SG SUBJECT: DAKAR FRAUD SUMMARY - FIRST QUARTER FY2007 REF: A. 05 STATE 205073 ¶B. 06 Dakar 1802 ¶C. 06 Dakar 2661 ¶1. Following is Embassy Dakar's quarterly fraud reporting cable for the first quarter (October-December) of FY2007. Responses are keyed to Reftel A. ¶A. COUNTRY CONDITIONS: The economic situation in Senegal is difficult and has sparked concerns within the international donor community and among foreign investors. Key sectors behind Senegal's export-oriented economic growth in recent years (fishing, phosphate, and peanuts) have experienced production declines, and economists predict overall GDP growth for 2006 was significantly below earlier expectations. The supply of electricity and petroleum products has experienced numerous interruptions in recent months and continues to negatively affect the country's overall economic performance and the living standards of the population. Higher prices for cooking gas and other daily staples have also increased the financial difficulties for much of the population. As a result, Senegalese continue to see illegal migration as a means to improve their economic situation. With other routes becoming more difficult, Senegalese are increasingly using fishing boats to travel to Spain. The current political situation is characterized by tense competition between the ruling Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) and the opposition parties. The Government has already announced that legislative elections that were scheduled for February 2007 will be postponed until June 3, 2007. The presidential election is still scheduled for February 25, but the imperfect level of preparation is still a cause of concern. The numerous legal and constitutional reforms undertaken in the electoral field during a period close to elections have been a cause for concern among leaders of the opposition and civil society organizations. ¶B. NON-IMMIGRANT (NIV) FRAUD: Post's Fraud Prevention Unit completed a validation study to confirm the return of all 15 students who attended summer camp in the U.S. in the summer of ¶2006. ¶C. IMMIGRANT VISA (IV) FRAUD: In this quarter, Post returned 32 petitions to USCIS for review with the recommendation that they be revoked. Post continues to see scam marriages for the sole purpose of immigration. Two Nigerians who were refused non-immigrant visas used a Christian website to find their spouses. Both petitioners are poor single mothers who are marginally employed. Fraud indicators for Sierra Leonean marriage include: revived a relationship with old flames; seeing the beneficiary's photo at a mutual friend or family member's residence; and a chance encounter at an airport or taxi stand. ¶D. DV FRAUD: No change. ¶E. ACS AND PASSPORT FRAUD: Post denied one Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) certificate after DNA testing revealed that the alleged Amcit father was not the biological father of a child born out of wedlock. The Amcit later confessed that he knew he was not the biological father, explaining his girlfriend had been raped and he was trying to assist her. Eight CRBA applications submitted in 2004 and 2005 have been abandoned because alleged Amcit parents have not presented sufficient evidence of a biological relationship with the child and have declined to conduct DNA testing. ¶F. ADOPTION FRAUD: Amcits of Sierra Leonean origin appear to be submitting false adoption decrees to obtain IR2 visas for other Sierra Leoneans. For example, three Amcits living in Woodbridge, Virginia, submitted 13 petitions for alleged adopted children. Post returned nine petitions to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) because of fraudulent adoption certificates. Four of the nine beneficiaries appear to be in their thirties. Post has not yet adjudicated the remaining four petitions. The rate of adoption fraud in orphan cases remains at approximately 50 percent. Embassy Freetown completed field investigations for nine adopted orphans this quarter. Four of these children were not orphans under INA 101(b)(1)(F) and one case is pending with USCIS to make the orphan determination. Field investigations for ten adopted orphans are still pending. ¶G. ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFITS FRAUD: No change. ¶H. COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES: No change. DAKAR 00000355 002 OF 002 ¶I. AREA OF PARTICULAR CONCERN: Security at Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport is vulnerable. According to officials working for firms in charge of security for Delta and Air France, clandestine migrants breach the airport's perimeters on a regular basis. Clandestine migrants usually rush to the tarmac to mingle with outbound passengers when they leave the airport bus to board the plane. An official from the security firm working for Delta confirmed that an individual climbed into a Delta airplane's wheel compartment at Dakar's airport on January 12, 2007. The individual did not survive the flight. According to an article from the January 17 edition of "The Soleil" newspaper, a similar incident occurred with SN Brussels. A victim believed to be a Gambian airport employee did not survive the January 17 Banjul - Dakar - Brussels flight. His remains were found in the wheel well of the plane in Brussels. According to airport contacts, the Gendarmerie is more reliable than airport police. Since the Gendarmerie only has authority to arrest and incarcerate clandestine migrants caught on the tarmac, Air France prefers to intercept malafide travelers on the tarmac instead of during check-in. In contrast, South African Airways (SAA) stop travelers with suspicious documents during check-in and sends those passengers to the airport police. SAA security staff suspect that the police release most of these individuals or assist them to take alternative routes out of Senegal. As a result, Post receives few requests to verify U.S. Refugee Travel Documents (I-571s). According to post contacts, the current rate to assist clandestine migrants to board a flight is 1,000,000 CFA francs (CFAF) (USD 2,000). If the passenger is repatriated, he is reimbursed 700,000 CFAF (USD 1,380). The new transit route for illegal immigrants is Dakar's port. According to a source from Aeroport International Leopold Sedar Senghor (SOFRASEP - AFRIQUE),I Messina Senegal, a well known container company, spends about 15,000,000 CFAF a month in tickets to repatriate clandestine immigrants from just one country, Italy. Post is still seeing fraudulent entry/exit stamps in passports, primarily from Dubai. ¶J. STAFFING AND TRAINING: Roksana K. Houge started working as the new Fraud Prevention Manager in December 2006. In the second quarter, the Fraud Prevention Coordinator hopes to attend an interviewing techniques workshop organized by Post's Federal Bureau of Investigation and an All-Africa Fraud Conference in Accra, Ghana. JACOBS