Abuses in German consulates were uncovered by the German side itself
The German Foreign Ministry emphasizes that these are locally hired staff, not German diplomats. It is believed that at least during the last two years, several hundred entry permits to the Federal Republic were illegally issued.
It is assumed that the initiators of this scam are some criminal groups involved in the illegal smuggling of people into the Schengen area and operating from German territory. At any rate, several women who obtained visas in this way ended up in Hamburg brothels.
Berlin prosecutor's office representative Martin Steltner has already confirmed that his office has launched an investigation on suspicion of corruption and organized people smuggling in eight cases. All suspects have been suspended from work at the consulates.
Remarkably, the German diplomatic service experienced a similar scandal exactly three years ago – in December 2007. During checks at German consular sections of the embassies in Moscow and Cairo, it was found that a large number of entry visas to Germany were issued using forged documents. Specifically, 132 visas illegally obtained by Egyptian citizens, and 1,259 annual visas issued in the Russian capital. As now, locally hired consulate employees came under suspicion of fraud: six people in Cairo and one in Moscow. As a result, the Foreign Ministry blocked the illegally issued visas, including annual ones, and the caught fraudsters were fired.
Since then, the Foreign Ministry leadership regularly sends special employees abroad who, with the support of specialists from the Federal Police (formerly the Border Guard) and the Federal Criminal Police Office, check the activities of German diplomatic missions abroad. In particular, the inspectors, who have considerable work experience and appropriate technical equipment, are interested in the visa issuance process.
Bundestag deputies also regularly take an interest in this issue. The last known parliamentary report on this topic dates back to 2008. The document noted, for example, that due to the enormous workload, consular employees could review one application for no more than three minutes. Otherwise, a total backlog! Special attention was paid to the active work of certain Russian travel agencies accredited at the embassy in Moscow, which submit applications and other documents of visa candidates. It was emphasized that 50-60 such firms are not subject to any regular control at all, including by employees of the Federal Criminal Police Office.
Most likely, there will be no loud political scandal in Berlin now, just as three years ago. After all, the abuses were uncovered by the German side itself.
BY THE WAY: In September 2006, Bundestag deputies, having prepared an 800-page report on the so-called 'visa scam' ('Volmer Decree' of March 2000) and holding 32 meetings totaling 150 hours, were unable to reach a unanimous opinion on the perpetrators of the scandal that had come to light. 58 witnesses, including the then interior and foreign ministers, questioned by persistent parliamentarians, could not clarify this issue either. As a result of the activities of the special parliamentary committee, all that remained were 1,600 folders of documentation, interview transcripts totaling 2,100 pages, and 450,000 pages of documents that had been sifted through.
Vladimir GUSHCHIN.
