During routine checks at German consulates in Moscow and Cairo, it was found that a large number of entry visas to Germany were issued using forged documents. Specifically, we are talking about 132 visas illegally obtained by Egyptian citizens, as well as 1,259 annual visas issued in the Russian capital.
The German Foreign Ministry has recently been regularly sending a number of its employees and even officials of the Federal Police (formerly the Border Guard) abroad to check the activities of diplomatic missions abroad. First of all, these inspectors, who have solid work experience and appropriate technical equipment, are interested in the visa issuance process. The German agency is thus trying to fully overcome the consequences of the high-profile visa scandal two years ago, caused by the adoption of a not fully thought-out ministry decree on softening requirements for candidates to obtain the coveted sticker in their passport. Let us recall that the 'red-green' Federal Government of Gerhard Schröder demanded that German embassies issue visas on the principle of 'in case of doubt, in favor of the applicant.' As a result, a wave of residents from Eastern Europe, mainly from Ukraine, flooded into Germany in 2000-2003, who not only were in no hurry to return home, but also engaged in outright criminal activity in Germany. In 2001 alone, the German consulate in Kiev unjustifiably issued nearly 300,000 visas.
It seems that history is repeating itself, albeit on a smaller scale. In Cairo, six employees of the German consulate hired locally came under suspicion of fraud. It is assumed that they acted together, forging applicants' documents. It is unknown whether they took money for their services, but it is hardly possible to imagine that the fraudsters worked for nothing. The ministry's inspectors have so far processed only 10,000 of the 50,000 visas issued in Cairo. So it is not excluded that the number of uncovered abuses may increase further. This point is especially alarming for the German side. The fact is that, according to estimates by German intelligence services, one of the main terrorist threats to the Federal Republic comes precisely from Egypt.
In Moscow, a dishonest consulate employee, also not a German diplomat, came to the attention of the inspectors. This could be either a German citizen of Russian origin or a Russian-speaking family member of a German embassy employee. In any case, the practice of hiring such personnel in German consulates has existed for a long time.
According to data that reached the press, the errant employee worked successfully in a special department of the consulate responsible for issuing visas 'in urgent and special cases.' In general, the creation and operation of this department, under which 550 German companies operating in the Russian Federation and 79 German organizations are registered, were welcomed by German citizens doing business or developing other contacts with the Russian side.
This department also served Russian government officials traveling to Germany on business. As claimed, until now no serious violations had been detected in the department, and all 'errors' were immediately identified and corrected. Now the situation is clearly critical. The consulate has already blocked 153 of the 1,259 improperly issued visas, and the organizer of the fraud has been fired. It is possible that the German consulate will also take measures against Russian citizens who received visas based on forged documents by placing them on a blacklist.
For official Berlin, the main question now is who is responsible for the abuses and whether the head of the Foreign Ministry, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, will face personal punishment. The latter, at least, is insisted upon by two Bundestag deputies from the CDU, Clemens Binninger and Reinhard Grindel. On October 30 and November 2, both parliamentarians made trips to Moscow and Kiev, where they visited German diplomatic missions. At the beginning of December, the deputies sent a six-page report to Steinmeier summarizing the results of their impressions from the trips.
Regarding the work of the consulate in Moscow, the document notes that in only 60% of cases does the applicant personally appear for an interview. The remaining visas are issued through employees of Russian travel agencies who bring applications and other documents of visa candidates to the embassy. We are talking about 50-60 firms that 'are not subject to any regular control, including by employees of the Federal Criminal Office.' Only this year, the deputies note, nearly 28,000 entry permits to Germany were issued in Moscow in this manner.
Consulate workers in Moscow also told the parliamentarians that due to the huge workload, processing one application takes them an average of three minutes. It is clear that in such a short time it is difficult for them to determine the authenticity of the submitted documents. According to the deputies, this year the German embassy in Moscow already tried to limit the number of visas issued by setting a limit of 120 passports per day. However, due to 'political pressure,' the consulate was forced to abandon this practice.
Deputies Binninger and Grindel believe that in German diplomatic missions, unfortunately, 'far-reaching conclusions were not drawn from the results of the parliamentary committee investigating the visa fraud.' So, they say, the head of the Foreign Ministry should now draw his own conclusions.
Most likely, there will be no major scandal in Berlin this time. After all, the abuses were uncovered by the German diplomats themselves, and the political confrontation between the 'black' deputies and the Social Democratic leadership of the Foreign Ministry is evident. Undisputedly, however, one should now expect further tightening of visa procedures from Germany. In any case, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jäger has already stated that an order has been given to check the work of all German consular offices in Russia.
According to unconfirmed reports, abuses in visa issuance were also noted at Russian diplomatic missions in Germany. Allegedly a couple of years ago, a dishonest diplomat who worked both in Bonn and Berlin was caught red-handed. However, the leadership of the Russian embassy did not escalate the scandal or initiate criminal proceedings against him. It seems the offending employee was quietly offered to resign from the Foreign Ministry and look for another job.
Vladimir GUSHCHIN.
Russkaya Germaniya