FRAUD SUMMARY - ASMARA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ASMARA 000346 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/CA, AF/E, CA/FPP, CA/EX PASS TO INL/HSTC POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS FRANKFURT FOR RCO DEPT PASS TO KCC WILLIAMSBURG KY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS KFRD CPAS CMGT ASEC ER SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - ASMARA REF: A. Asmara 204 B. 07 Asmara 967 C. 07 STATE 171211 ASMARA 00000346 001.2 OF 005 ¶1. The following is a summary of fraud conditions experienced during the April to June 2008 period. Point of contact is Conoff Brian Shelbourn, shelbournbl@state.gov, 291-1-12-00-04. -------------- ¶2. (SBU) COUNTRY CONDITIONS -------------- The Government of the State of Eritrea's (GSE) economic policies continue to cause scarcity of goods and impoverishment of the people. Employment prospects are virtually non-existent. Of those employed, many work as draftees in the Eritrean national service which provides wages barely a step above slave labor, approximately $30 and $40 per month. Basic commodities such as diesel fuel and flour are strictly rationed and are sometimes unavailable due to restrictions on imports and the government's monopoly on possessing hard currency. Propane, the basic cooking fuel, has been sporadically available for months, leading to the use of also scarce kerosene and charcoal for heating food. President Isaias Afwerki recently stated that white bread and pasta are "luxuries." In 2007 Eritrea's inflation rate was 25.6% and per capita GDP was only $220. The GSE continues to press large numbers of citizens into long, undefined periods of military service. Disenchantment continues to build, especially among the young. This has led to a massive illegal exodus across the borders of Sudan and Ethiopia, with as many as 2,000 leaving Eritrea illegally each month. Mandatory national service begins at the age of 17 for both boys and girls, and includes intensive military training. For males, while the officially published age cutoff is 40, in practice the term of national service currently extends up to 54. National service, while supposedly of a set duration, currently has no end date and many individuals have been forced to work in national service for over 13 years. Because of this, many parents seek any avenue to get their children out of the country prior to being conscripted, even at the risk of their own arrests. Those unable to obtain permission to leave Eritrea often illegally flee across the border to either Sudan or Ethiopia to escape the harsh conditions. Many people with passports leave legally and do not return. The desperation to leave Eritrea is felt at all levels of society. The consular section in Asmara has been closed to most visa services since January 2007, but has continued limited issuances for extreme humanitarian cases and those clearly in USG interests. The section provides document intake services for Immigrant and Diversity visas, transfers cases to other posts upon request, and provides document verification services to other U.S. Embassies which process Eritrean applicants. Post anticipates remaining closed for visa services for the immediate future, but continues to provide the full array of American Citizen Services. Asmara is considered a medium fraud post, with potential to become high as profit-motivated fraud rings learn to take advantage of a population desperate to escape the GSE's oppressive policies. -------------- ¶3. (SBU) NIV FRAUD -------------- Post is not currently issuing NIVs in significant numbers and has not experienced fraud during the reporting period. Asmara has traditionally been considered to be a medium fraud post for NIVs. Student visas - The University of Asmara provides reliable student record verification. Posts interviewing Eritrean students should be aware that the University graduated its final class in 2007 and is no longer operating. Eritrea currently has no accredited tertiary schools. -------------- ¶4. (SBU) IV FRAUD ASMARA 00000346 002.2 OF 005 -------------- Post is not currently issuing IVs in significant numbers and has not experienced fraud during the reporting period. Asmara has traditionally been considered to be a medium fraud post for IVs. Marriage fraud has always been a concern of the consular section due to the number of arranged marriages. The fraud seen in Eritrea is typical of many other countries, except that it is neither highly organized nor sophisticated. It tends to be fairly easy to detect, in that the Amcit in the relationship typically leaves Eritrea immediately after the marriage to file the petition and then maintains little or no contact until documentation is requested. Also, all marriages in Eritrea are grand affairs, with even impoverished families having elaborate ceremonies recorded on video. Any marriage not performed with an elaborate religious service or not having video documentation is highly suspect. -------------- ¶5. (SBU) DV FRAUD -------------- Post is not currently issuing DVs in significant numbers and has not experienced fraud during the reporting period. Asmara has traditionally been considered to be a medium fraud post for DVs. -------------- ¶6. (SBU) ACS AND PASSPORT FRAUD -------------- Post has experienced no cases of passport fraud during the reporting period. Asmara has traditionally been considered to be a low fraud post for ACS and passports. Post notes a doubling of CRBA and passport applications during the reporting period compared to the same period in 2007. Conoff's inquiries indicate the awareness level of the Diaspora regarding consular services has increased, as well as the desire for non-resident fathers to have their Amcit children's U.S. passport in-hand should the economic or military situation in Eritrea deteriorate. Conoff remains vigilant in identifying increased passport/CRBA fraud indicators, is surprised at the lack of fraud indicators in this area, and expects to see an increase in the future. Eritrea's resident Amcit community is small and mostly static. The majority of passport renewals are for individuals known by consular staff. For those applicants not known by the staff, a direct comparison of the applicant, the current passport picture, and PIERS information is performed to ensure identity. For CRBA applicants of recently born babies, the mother's hospital stay certificate is routinely requested and verified with the hospital as needed. -------------- ¶7. (SBU) ADOPTION FRAUD -------------- Post is not currently processing adoption cases in significant numbers and has not experienced fraud during the reporting period. Like other types of fraud, adoption fraud is neither organized nor sophisticated but it is becoming more prevalent. The most common form of fraud is the classification of a child as an orphan while the birth parents are still alive and able to support the child. The usual reasons for adoption fraud are to improve the economic condition of the child by having them live with a U.S. relative or to avoid national service. Eritrean adoptions are usually only given to family members and are easy for them to obtain. The Eritrean adoption is then used as the basis for a U.S. adoption case. Although adoptions are reviewed by either the High Court or the Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare, the corrupt legal system in ASMARA 00000346 003.2 OF 005 Eritrea provides fraud opportunities for those with high government connections. Post notes a recent case where an adopting Amcit claimed she discovered after the adoption that the parents of the children she adopted were living high-ranking GSE officials. Post is unable to confirm the allegation. -------------- ¶8. (SBU) DNA TESTING -------------- Post uses DNA testing primarily for out-of-wedlock births and for first-time citizenship applications for older children, and notes no negative results. There are also many instances of aunts/uncles petitioning a niece/nephew as an IR2 to provide better economic opportunity or to avoid the harsh conditions of mandatory military service. Post will continue to liberally recommend DNA testing for IR2 applications if/when the visa section reopens, and advises posts processing Eritrean IVs to consider doing the same. Post notes Eritrean family and social structures are conducive to obtaining reliable DNA results. Family relationships tend to be well-defined and along American norms, and there is no influx of refugees or migrants. Eritrea has some isolated ethnic groups, such as the Nara, with which the cosular section has little or no interaction. -------------- ¶9. (SBU) ASYLUM FRAUD -------------- Post is not currently issuing Visas 92/93 in significant numbers and has not experienced fraud during the reporting period. -------------- ¶10. (SBU) ALIEN SMUGGLING -------------- Eritrea is a source country for illegal travelers, but not as an organized system designed to facilitate travel to the U.S. Eritrean men under 40 and unmarried women under 27 generally cannot obtain passports, but the specific rules are opaque and change frequently and without notice. Men under 54 and women under 47, even those with passports, are routinely denied exit visas. 2,000 Eritreans illegally cross the Sudanese and Ethiopian borders each month. Smugglers charge between $1,000 and $7,000 for the service. The smugglers are reportedly Eritrean military, police, or national security officers, but there are also reports of Rashaida (a trans-national ethnic group known to be traders) involvement. There are neither reports nor indications of local fraud rings dedicated to facilitating illegal travel to the U.S. Approximately 4,800 Somali refugees reside near Massawa. A UNHCR representative noted that an undefined number of Somalis in the camp have "moved on" to other countries. -------------- ¶11. (SBU) DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS -------------- Conoff and RSO have had reduced opportunities to collaborate on fraud investigations due to the closure of the visa section, but ACS case hits are immediately shared and discussed. RSO responds to consular requests expeditiously. Both RSO and Conoff look forward to increased cooperation on investigations when the visa section eventually reopens. -------------- ¶12. (SUB) HOST COUNTRY PASSPORTS, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL REGISTRY -------------- The Eritrean passport has no identifiable security features. Bio data is hand-written, photographs are physically placed, and the ASMARA 00000346 004.2 OF 005 lamination is of extremely poor quality. In addition, an Eritrean passport is not proof of nationality. Reports circulate of Somali, Sudanese, and other non-Eritreans traveling on Eritrean tourist and diplomatic passports. The Eritrean national ID card is the only document proving nationality, but it too is hand written (only in Tigrinya and Arabic, not English),poorly laminated, and easily altered. The GSE provided no indication of improvements to its passport and has rebuffed requests from Conoff to discuss the matter. A recently issued Eritrean passport in Khartoum may be a sign that the applicant has left Eritrea illegally. The GSE freely issues passports to Eritrean nationals living abroad, even if they depart illegally. Post speculates the government facilitates these passports in hopes that the departed will remit hard currency after settlement in wealthier countries. Post recently received evidence that the GSE provides a certificate to Eritrean asylees living overseas to allow them entry/exit without an Eritrean entrance stamp being placed in their passport. The certificate is written only in Tigrinya, is stamped for entrance and exit, and provides proof of the individual's payment of the 2% Diaspora income tax. The GSE's desperate lack of hard currency is the government's likely reason for facilitating such travel. Post will report more information on regarding asylee travel to Eritrea septel. Posts using completion of Eritrean National Service as a sign of ties to Eritrea should be aware of reliable reports that a source in Dubai is supplying false national service completion certificates. Conoff has yet to examine a false certificate, but official certificates have no known security features and are easily forged. The GSE will not provide verification of completion of military/national service. Conoff received information during the reporting period that "official" birth and marriage certificates are available for sale for 5,000 Nakfa ($333.33) from the Asmara (and presumably other) municipalities. The GSE recently pushed responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of applicant information down to the neighborhood level official in an effort to improve accuracy and accountability. Instead, the move created profit-making opportunities. Information contained on official birth and marriage certificates can be completely altered, per the request of the payer. On a positive note, the Asmara municipality has recently computerized these records and is assigning a unique identification number to each person. This system will eventually roll out to all towns and villages in Eritrea, and shows some indication of GSE willingness to combat fraud. -------------- -------------- ¶13. (SBU) COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES -------------- -------------- Post continues to receive no cooperation on consular issues from the host government, other than routine document verification. However, because even legitimately issued governmental documents are suspect, this cooperation is of limited use. School records tend to be very well kept and there is a history of cooperation with local schools regarding verifying these documents. Post anticipates that if we were to identify organized fraud rings that the local authorities would take an interest, but to date, post has seen no evidence indicating the existence of this type of organized smuggling in-country. -------------- ¶14. (SBU) AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN -------------- The increasing desperation of Eritreans resulting in increasing attempts to leave the country by any means available has not led to an increase in fraud indicators, as would be reasonably expected. Post remains vigilant in looking for fraud indicators, especially ASMARA 00000346 005.2 OF 005 for new passport and CRBA applications, and assumes that an increase in fraudulent applications is highly likely given the current political and economic situation in Eritrea. A large number of NIV applicants are expected when the consular section reopens for visa services. The usual walk-in application process will not be able to accommodate the volume. Prior to reopening for visa services, Post plans to employ the online NIV appointment system and an active public diplomacy program to avoid the common problems with queuing in areas outside of Embassy control. The Harris technicians who maintain consular computer systems did not receive visas from the GSE and were unable to make their scheduled visits in either June 2007 or April 2008. Although the section can function in the short-to-intermediate term with local technicians, if this situation is not addressed in the long run, the consular section could be forced to shut down completely in the event of a catastrophic failure of the computer systems. -------------- ¶15. (SBU) STAFFING AND TRAINING -------------- The section remains short staffed during our closure and will remain so until the section fully opens for visa services. Training options are currently limited to those available inside Eritrea. The Harris technicians may provide needed systems training if they receive visas. The Mission restrictions on off-shore training, currently in place due to the number of LES not returning from training in the U.S., currently limits our staff to online courses and on-the-job learning opportunities. MCINTYRE