00:00Almost one week after Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander spoke about rampant corruption happening at the immigration division, allegedly
00:07connected to immigration officials and other staff, sources within the division have indicated that the corrupt practices within the division
00:15have led to several immigration officials and other employees profitably handsoming, living a luxurious life, owning expensive properties, high-end
00:23motor vehicles, and making frequent trips across the world.
00:27Senior immigration officers familiar with the alleged racket claimed that the fees for the services of residency, citizenship, and work
00:34permits were significantly higher than the figures cited by the minister, suggesting that much larger sums of money have been
00:41changing hands.
00:42The minister had said officials were receiving kickbacks of up to $90,000 to perform these activities.
00:47However, one immigration source said these transactions can actually fetch up to $150,000 in many cases, while agents and
00:56other immigration officials charge $50,000 and upward for a work permit.
01:01Many of the victims of these corrupt schemes are the Chinese, Middle Eastern, Indian, and Bangladeshi nationals.
01:06Agents and so-called immigration consultants often have connections in the Port of Spain, Chaguanas, and other immigration offices across
01:15the country to facilitate the illicit operation, according to another immigration source.
01:19According to sources, several of these agents frequently enter the offices of immigration personnel, where arrangements and monetary deals are
01:27brokered on behalf of foreign clients seeking immigration approvals and other services.
01:32Another immigration source stationed at Payako International Airport told TV6 News that when Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Bangladeshi nationals
01:39enter the country, they are stigmatized and often made to feel like criminals, and are in many cases refused entry.
01:46Whoever is hosting them then has to approach senior immigration officials to negotiate their admission into the country.
01:52At that point, some are made to pay as much as $25,000 for entry, visas, and admission.
01:58But, according to sources, this represents only part of a much larger operation within the system.
02:04As a senior immigration source said that during a meeting held a while back, one senior immigration official boasted that
02:11for every refusal taken to hotels where Indian and Bangladeshi nationals are housed, he would receive U.S. $65 per
02:18person, whether they are sent back or admitted into this country.
02:22Minister Alexander had also spoken about this alleged scheme in which foreign nationals were deliberately bucked from entering the country.
02:29He said authorities were trying to determine who may have issued such instructions.
02:34That matter is now engaging the attention of the police and the cybercrime unit.
02:38One senior immigration official described as alarming the extent to which senior officials allegedly facilitated payments for paperwork involving Chinese
02:46nationals over the years.
02:47He said quite often these officials would often meet individuals at various restaurants and businesses to broker backdoor deals.
02:55In many cases, brown envelopes containing large sums of money were handed over to ensure work permits or residency approvals
03:02or to guarantee there would be no problems when Chinese nationals first entered the country through the airport.
03:08Another immigration official who resides in Central Trinidad, according to a police source familiar with his activities and corroborated by
03:15several immigration sources, allegedly operates from his home where he keeps files belonging to Chinese nationals, conducts interviews and charges
03:23approximately $25,000 for work permits while requesting sums close to $150,000 for residency approvals.
03:31Police and immigration sources say it is through these illicit and highly lucrative ventures that many of the officials under
03:37suspicion have been able to live far beyond their means and official pay grades.
03:42In one case, the senior immigration officer is repairing his mother's home at a cost of over a million dollars
03:48and had also recently purchased a condo in West Trinidad for over $2 million and also owns a property in
03:54Arima and owns several high-end vehicles.
03:57Sources say that several other immigration officials have similar unexplained wealth owning several properties and new high-end luxury vehicles
04:10while others have built multi-million dollar homes and modest salaries as well as travel extensively quite frequently.
04:17However, immigration sources stress that while these officers allegedly facilitated aspects of the scheme, they did not possess the final
04:25authority to approve residency, work permits or citizenship applications.
04:29They believed the officers under scrutiny were likely supported by other Ministry of National Security officials with the authority, influence
04:37or access required to expedite or approve applications.
04:41They maintained that corruption on the scale being described could not have operated without some degree of collusion from individuals
04:47higher up within the system.
04:49Mark Passant, TV6 News
04:52Mark Passant, TV6 News
04:52Mark Passant, TV6 News
04:54Mark Passant, TV6 News
04:54Mark Passant, TV6 News
04:54Mark Passant, TV6 News
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