The government of South Africa has suspended dozens of immigration officials being investigated for giving South African birth certificates to foreigners, mainly from Pakistan, the government says.
British security and intelligence officials started warning last year of an increasing risk of Islamic extremists using South Africa as a transit point and venue to plot. They said future attacks on Britain could be directed from countries other than Pakistan -- where dozens of Britons with family ties have traveled for terrorist training or have been linked to recent terror plots.
"The fraudulent registration of births of foreigners constitutes a serious threat to the national security of our country," the Home Affairs Minister said in a statement.
The move comes months after Britain started requiring visas from South Africans, charging that would-be terrorists and criminals were exploiting the availability of stolen or forged South African passports to gain access to other countries. South Africa said nearly a year ago that steps had been taken to prevent corrupt officials from issuing bogus passports.
Warnings of Passport Fraud
I reported on the South African passport scandal more than a year ago, mainly as an example to alert you to the possibility of passport fraud, should you be planning to acquire a second passport.
One of most important considerations when evaluating the usefulness of an alternative citizenship and a second passport is that it is legal in every respect.
That fact may seem obvious, but the proliferation of fly-by-night passport fraud operations, especially on the Internet, requires not only this reminder, but strict adherence to laws when making second passport plans and decisions.
The South African case points up that even government officials are implicated in passport fraud and this case is only one of many involving corrupt government officials.
Don't Take a Chance
When you spend a considerable sum of money to acquire a second citizenship, then use that document as your basis for personal international movement, first you should be absolutely certain that the documents and your status are in strict accord with the constitution and laws of the issuing nation.
In this age of instant communication it takes only hours, certainly no more than a few days, before customs and immigration officials worldwide know when a passport is called into question and illegal passport holders can go straight to jail.
In 1992 official, but illegally issued Dominican Republic passports and, in 1999, official passports issued by Panama were canceled.
In the latter case, a high passport official resigned alleging she had been pressured into issuing passports to various foreign business associates of the outgoing president. When a new Panama president took office he canceled more then 400 official "diplomatic" passports his predecessor had issued, illegally he claimed, to favored foreign friends.
Unknown Underground
The South African news exposes a little known fact; that there is an expansive, lucrative underground black market in forged and faked passports.
Even legal passports can go astray. In 1998, the Samoan Government announced 150 of its official passports simply had been "lost." Since then thousands of official passports have been stolen or lost in France, Australia, Finland and Belgium. In 2005 the United Kingdom admitted that in the prior year over 10,000 of their passports has been lost, stolen or disappeared.
In 2008 U.S. government security agencies uncovered a criminal ring in Thailand that produced counterfeit passports and other travel documents, including hundreds of fake U.S. passports sold on the black market.
A few years ago a U.S. State Department official was indicted for fraudulently helping foreigners obtain preferential treatment under a program that admits wealthy investors to the United States.
The Passport Book
If you are interested in obtaining dual citizenship and the second passport that come with that enhanced status, you can learn about every aspect of what is required in the latest 2009 edition of my book, The Passport Book.
one of our most popular publications, also lists almost 100 countries and explains the residence and citizenship requirements of each, along with contacts.The Sovereign Society also provides to its members contact information for professionals who can assist you in acquiring second citizenship based on naturalization, ancestry, marriage, religion, or even past political persecution by some nations.
The Passport Book - 7th Edition
If you want you want to discover a new, freedom loving place in which to pitch your tent, deposit your cash or protect your assets, the seventh edition of my best-selling publication, The Passport Book, is now available. You can get your copy now. Here's a sample of the contents.
The Sovereign Society is a recognized voice in the complex offshore world. Join the Sovereign Society and keep informed.
I was targeted in a money scam and was sent via email visa and passports documentation that I later found out were fake.Who do I contact to get this person investigated and stop.
Bob Bauman responds: That depends on where the person and/or company is located and doing business.
If you can provide that information we may be better able to assist you.
In the meantime, you had best make certain that any personal or financial information you provided to them is not abused by identity theft.
Posted by: rickey hensley | January 24, 2010 at 02:44 PM