SINGAPORE QUARTERLY FRAUD SUMMARY - Q2 FY2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000680 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR CA/FPP AND INL/HSTC DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO KCC FRAUD MANAGER POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGER SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC SN SUBJECT: SINGAPORE QUARTERLY FRAUD SUMMARY - Q2 FY2007 REFS: (A) Singapore 225 (B) 06 Singapore 3469 SINGAPORE 00000680 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. SUMMARY: H-1b fraud continued to be our most serious form of fraud, but the number of H-1b applications from unqualified and/or short-term residents of Singapore originating from India continued to drop this quarter. Post devoted significant resources to addressing potential adoption fraud. END SUMMARY. ¶2. SINGAPORE FRAUD SUMMARY ¶A. COUNTRY CONDITIONS: Singapore remained a low-fraud environment for consular services. Singapore's pool of visa applicants is comprised of well-qualified individuals with reliable documentation for the most part. Our key concern continued to relate to the potential for fraud by the Indian H-1b applicant pool. ¶B. NIV FRAUD: Post has begun a validation study of B1 visas issued to Filipino domestic helpers in 2006 for the purpose of accompanying their employers to the United States. Singapore's generally affluent and mobile population -- American and otherwise -- generate a large number of domestic helper B1 visa applications; the overwhelming majority of these are for Filipinos. Results of the study will be reported in the Q3 FY2007 Quarterly Fraud Summary. Post continued to implement stringent measures in the adjudication of H-1b IT applicants originating from India. The FPU unit utilized Nexis Lexis to vet petitioners' information submitted through tax returns, W-2 forms, payroll registries, LCAs, I-129s, and other documents. In addition, post continued to exchange information with nearby posts concerning the legitimacy of local companies. ¶C. IV FRAUD: See adoption fraud. Otherwise, IV fraud remained minimal. ¶D. DV Fraud: No change. ¶E. ACS AND PASSPORT FRAUD: Embassy Singapore had another encounter with identity fraud perpetrator Michael Fay/Doherty (Ref B). An officer from the Embassy's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) office approached the ACS unit requesting help with verifying whether an American citizen had renounced his citizenship. According to the FAA officer, a pilot of Irish nationality who claimed to have renounced his U.S. citizenship had approached FAA Singapore requesting their assistance in helping him to transfer his pilot certification into his new name and nationality. The FAA officer was unaware of post's prior encounters with Fay/Doherty. Consular chief briefed the FAA officer on some of elements of the case and provided some limited written information concerning Fay's visa application, including that the visa had been refused. Cons chief referred FAA to CA/PPT for requests related to Fay's passports records. We understand from FAA that Fay submitted a written application to transfer his pilot's license to his Irish nationality and made a written statement that he had renounced his U.S. citizenship. Consular chief was subsequently contacted by a Diplomatic Security agent seconded to CA/PPT. Cons chief briefed the agent on the full details of our encounters with Fay/Doherty to date. ¶F. ADOPTION FRAUD: Post has followed up on its adoption fraud concerns (Ref A) by initiating outreach efforts to educate American citizens considering adoption in Singapore. On February 27, Post held an information session for prospective adopting parents with Peter L. Rosenstock from UCSIS's Hong Kong office (which covers Singapore) and representatives of Post's Consular section. Rosenstock and Cons representatives also participated in a similar session organized by the Singapore American Community Action Council (SACAC),a group accredited by the GOS to conduct adoption home studies here. Both sessions were well-attended and generated lively discussions that clarified a number of ongoing issues about adoption in Singapore. SINGAPORE 00000680 002.2 OF 002 ¶G. ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD: No change. ¶H. COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES: The GOS in general remained eager to share information related to non-Singapore citizens involved in alien smuggling or mala fide travel schemes. The GOS also remained reluctant to release information about Singapore nationals due to strict privacy laws, though there are no significant cases to report. Post has shared with the GOS information about Singaporean alien smugglers detained outside the Singapore and is monitoring its use of this information. In 2Q FY2007, we informed the GOS about three cases. Two of these involved the same 10-year-old boy with an altered Singapore passport; the boy was offloaded in Korea (Incheon) on January 27 and in Tokyo (Narita) on February 26, accompanied by a different Singaporean woman in each case. The third case was of a Singaporean man detained by Immigration in London on March 26 after arriving from Bangkok with 200 blank European passports in his luggage. ¶I. AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN: None J: STAFFING AND TRAINING: No change. HERBOLD