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Home Affairs nails fraud kingpin

Source: My Broadband, 12/11/2024

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Counter Corruption and Security Services branch has busted various individuals, including the kingpin of a syndicate that helped businesses bring in illegal foreign nationals on forged documents.Thirty-four individuals have been dismissed from the department, of which 13 have been sentenced. Depending on their level of involvement, those convicted face jail time ranging from four to 26 years.This was revealed in the DHA Counter Corruption and Security Services branchs presentation to the Portfolio Committee of Home Affairs on Tuesday, 29 October 2024.The branch said it employed a multi-disciplinary approach to catch those involved in the syndicate after a whistle-blower informed it about foreign nationals getting South African passports through photo swap fraud.Photo swap happened whereby a South African identity holder colluded with a foreign national and DHA official; both will visit Home Affairs to apply for a South African passport, it explained.During the process, the corrupt official will capture the photo of the foreigner so that the passport is issued bearing the picture of the foreigner with the details of the South African citizen.The whistle-blower claimed that the kingpin colluded with DHA officials to access Home Affairs offices after hours, and they were in contact with officials who could access DHA systems during the day.He would travel to different Home Affairs Offices to be assisted with the photo swap accompanied by Home Affairs Officials, the DHA said.Offices targeted included several DHA branches in Limpopo, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape. One branch in each Mpumalanga and the Free State was also targeted.The DHA provided a list of 34 DHA officials dismissed due to the operation, along with the DHA office at which they worked and their convictions.The DHA couldnt dismiss the kingpin, as he is a member of the public and not a DHA official, but he was handed an 18-year prison sentence. Twelve other individuals involved will also serve jail time.The remaining 20 officials were all dismissed and are still awaiting trial, along with another member of the public, arrested in Whiteriver, Mpumalanga.The DHA added that other matters are still under investigation with the Hawks and that more arrests are imminent.One of the slides in the presentation highlighted a trend surrounding document applications coming out of Derrick Avenue in Johannesburg, where numerous applications were submitted with addresses with no buildings.It has a number of properties that were demolished in 2013. All of these applications were from 2014 onwards, and the problem is there is no building there where these people say they were staying,Theres also 75 addresses theyve used that never existed. They dont exist at all. So, in this particular space, what we are going to recommend is that the applicants, once traced, be deported.Between 2014 and 2024, 511 applications were submitted with numerous pieces of common supporting information, claiming the applicant stayed at one of these addresses on Derrick Avenue. Home Affairs crackdown continues In mid-October 2024, DHA Minister Leon Schreiber announced that his department finalised 31 disciplinary cases within its ranks between July and September 2024, some of which resulted in criminal prosecution and dismissal.The minister said the crackdown reflects his departments commitment to eradicating maladministration.We have zero tolerance for unethical conduct or corruption, said Schreiber.As our accelerated action against errant conduct demonstrates, officials who fail to heed this message will soon find themselves out of Home Affairs and on their way to prison.He highlighted two individuals cases, both still awaiting trial.One was dismissed from the DHA in 2023 for manipulating its systems to facilitate immigration for foreign nationals fraudulently.The other worked as a Border Management Authority official and was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle foreign nationals across the border in Beitbridge.

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