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Viewing cable 07ASMARA602, QUARTERLY FRAUD REPORT - ASMARA

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07ASMARA602 2007-07-11 11:12 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Asmara
VZCZCXRO9141
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHAE #0602/01 1921112
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111112Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASMARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8936
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH NH 0302
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 6091
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0400
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1062
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4702
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 2951
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0107
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0065
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1749
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 0020
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 0002
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0183
RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO 0001
RUEHGA/AMCONSUL CALGARY 0009
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 1271
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1401
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 0029
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 1282
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0229
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ASMARA 000602 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/CA 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP, CA/EX 
PASS TO KCC 
PASS TO INL/HSTC 
POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS 
FRANKFURT FOR RCO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS KFRD CPAS CMGT ASEC ER
SUBJECT:  QUARTERLY FRAUD REPORT - ASMARA 
 
REF:  STATE 00205073 
 
ASMARA 00000602  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
1. The following is a summary of fraud conditions experienced during 
the April to June 2007 period.  This cable constitutes post's first 
fraud report; for this reason, this particular report provides a 
general overview.  Subsequent reports will address more specific 
fraud trends.  Post has been closed for visa services since December 
2006, due to the host government's refusal to provide visas across 
the board to official travelers (to include technicians to support 
our consular systems) and its insistence on the right to inspect the 
Embassy's diplomatic pouches, which has resulted in the stoppage of 
post's unclassified pouch since March 2007 affecting post's ability 
to bring in accountable supplies. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
COUNTRY CONDITIONS - INCREASING DETERIORIATION 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
2. The Eritrean economy continues to deteriorate at a rapid rate, 
leading to increased anxiety among the population.  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.  Prices of basic goods continue to increase, and scarcity is 
on the rise due to restrictions on imports and the government's 
holding of hard currency.  The wages paid under national service is 
not sufficient to support individuals, let alone those draftees with 
families. 
 
3. Mandatory national service begins at the age of 17 for both boys 
and girls, and includes intensive military training.  For males, 
while the official end date is the age of 40, in practice there is 
no end date to the term of national service; in some cases, 
individuals have been working in the national service for over 13 
years.  Because of this, many parents seek any avenue to get their 
children out of the country prior to be conscripted, even at the 
risk of their own arrest.  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. 
 
4. The consular section in Asmara remains closed to most visa 
services, but has continued limited issuances for extreme 
humanitarian cases and those clearly in USG interests.  We 
anticipate remaining closed to visa services for the indefinite 
future.  Post also provides the full array of American Citizen 
Services. 
 
--------- 
NIV FRAUD 
--------- 
 
5. Post is not currently issuing NIVs in significant numbers.  At 
this time, the visa section mainly provides support to our 
colleagues in the region who are processing the bulk of Eritrean 
applicants.  Asmara routinely verifies documents for these posts and 
provides guidance on documents that are susceptible to fraud, such 
as school certificates, those issued by the municipalities and 
baptismal certificates. 
 
6. Three LES sent to training in 2007 at FSI failed to return, 
leading to a reevaluation and more restrictive Mission training 
policies until the current environment improves.  While technically 
 
ASMARA 00000602  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
not consular fraud, it is illustrative of the difficulties faced by 
many Eritreans and their desire to improve their lives by 
emigrating. 
 
7. Student visas are another area of high occurrence of NIV fraud. 
The only university in Eritrea closed in 2003 and many young people 
are forced to seek higher education outside of the country.  Many, 
because of family ties and resources, wish to study in the U.S. 
Combined with a struggling economy with few jobs, many young 
Eritreans see higher education as their only hope for a better 
future.  For students, the most common form of fraud is the use of 
an altered transcript, which happens to be one of the more readily 
verifiable documents in Eritrea.  Post's LES educational advisor 
reports a dramatic increase in interest in her advising sessions. 
Many young Eritreans who wish to study outside of Eritrea are unable 
to obtain exit visas and passports locally choose instead flee 
across the border to Sudan.  In the past, the Eritrean embassy in 
Khartoum issued passports to Eritreans, even to those who would not 
have been issued in Asmara.  (Note:  A recently issued Eritrean 
passport from Khartoum could be an indicator of someone who has fled 
Eritrea illegally and may not be received kindly by the government 
if they returned.  End Note.) 
 
-------- 
IV FRAUD 
-------- 
 
8. Post has seen no employment-based IV fraud during this reporting 
period. 
 
9. 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. 
 
10. Attempts are also made to understate the age of a child in order 
to move them more quickly to the U.S.  It is very easy to obtain a 
fraudulent (yet genuinely issued) birth certificate in Eritrea. 
Post has noted cases of "children" obviously in their 20s attempting 
to be passed off as teens. 
 
-------- 
DV FRAUD 
-------- 
 
11. Post is not currently processing DVs and has nothing to report. 
In the past, when processing DVs, fraudulent educational transcripts 
and fake marriages were the most common forms of fraud. 
 
---------------------- 
ACS AND PASSPORT FRAUD 
---------------------- 
 
12. Post has not seen any ACS or passport fraud during the reporting 
period.  Post uses DNA testing extensively to determine parentage, a 
well-known fact to applicants in Asmara. 
 
 
ASMARA 00000602  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
-------------- 
ADOPTION FRAUD 
-------------- 
 
13. 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. 
 
------------ 
ASYLUM FRAUD 
------------ 
 
14. Post has not processed asylum cases during the period and has 
nothing to report. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
15. The only area of cooperation received from the Eritrean 
government involves 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 had a recent case of 
suspected fraud in which the school verifiers seemed reluctant to 
provide us with negative information due to the stature of the 
individual's family.  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. 
 
--------------------------- 
AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN 
--------------------------- 
 
16. 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.  At such time 
that post reopens for visa services, Post plans to employ the online 
NIV appointment system to avoid the common problems with queuing in 
areas outside of Embassy control. 
 
17. The Harris technicians who maintain consular computer systems 
did not receive visas from the Government of the State of Eritrea 
(GSE) and were not able to make their scheduled visit in June. 
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. 
 
--------------------- 
STAFFING AND TRAINING 
--------------------- 
 
18. Two of the three LES and the sole consular associate left the 
 
ASMARA 00000602  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
section during the reporting period but only one position has been 
filled, leaving the section short on experienced staff.  The 
remaining LES position has not been filled due to the consular 
section being closed for visa services.  The position will be 
refilled when the section reopens.  Training options are currently 
limited to those available in-country.  The Harris technicians could 
have provided needed systems training in June, but unfortunately 
were not able to enter the country.  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 
on-line courses and on-the-job learning opportunities. 
 
MCINTYRE