PSEPC: Impact on Canada of Corrupt Foreign Officials in Other Countries

Impact on Canada of Corrupt Foreign Officials in Other Countries, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness website

All I can recommend is that you go and read. There is a table of contents which will simplify finding what interests you.

Search: Corruption , Bribery , innocent confusion over whether welcoming gifts are appropriate , existence of corruption and the influence of organized crime , the evidence to support these assumptions has proven elusive , has not surfaced to date

There are more that could have been listed but you can get the tenor of the report from skimming it. Some excerpts of what I found to be interesting follow:

[. . . . ] It is common knowledge that some eastern European countries are havens for international criminal activity. It was suggested by one interviewee that approximately half the law enforcement officials with whom Canadian law enforcement officials interact in these countries are engaged in some form of corruption. Interviews with officials knowledgeable of the region, however, did not reveal hard evidence directly linking foreign officials and Canadian interests.

Domestically, in RCMP criminal investigations of drugs, money laundering, fraud and other serious transnational crimes, the involvement of foreign public officials has not surfaced to date. The RCMP, however, is aware of the potential of this involvement and investigators consider it in any relevant investigation.

A report that detailed how it is done was ordered destroyed. . . by whom, remains a mystery "to date". Google "sidewinder" and "Echo" and you'll be amazed at what you will find. Send a copy to Deputy PM McLellan, who may still be in the dark about this.

Search: Impact on Canadian economy or private business , Examples of Corruption: Immigration

Assisting others to circumvent normal immigration procedures (for example, by smuggling them across borders or supplying them with false documents).

In Asian countries, for example, there is ample evidence that government officials, including members of the armed forces, engage not just in illegal migration, but also in smuggling cars, fuel and cigarettes. Recently, such activities have been subject to investigations and arrests.

Admittance by some countries of immigrants solely on the basis of wealth (also called economic citizenship or passports of convenience)

The number of citizenship grants (including passports) from such countries is increasing. Background checks into the foreign nationals obtaining citizenship are often next to non-existent. It is possible, therefore, that some of those obtaining such passports of convenience are international criminals seeking to conceal their identities and their illicit gains. Human smugglers are suspected of using such passports of convenience to smuggle illegal migrants to countries like Canada, where these passports can be visa-exempt.

Theft, forgery and misrepresentation of documents or persons by local staff in our offices abroad (which, it is strongly suspected, involves foreign officials)

Immigration scams include adding ineligible persons as representatives of fictitious companies to lists of genuine attendees to conferences or trade missions in western countries. There is also evidence of manipulation of the CIC Business Partner program, a result of which could be the takeover by international criminal elements of heretofore-legitimate businesses.

Wrongdoing at Canadian missions has risen in the Africa/Middle East and Asia/Pacific regions and decreased in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. Almost half of all cases occurred in the Asia/Pacific region, which hosts a large immigration program and therefore offers increased opportunity. CIC reports that, since 1996, 45 local staff in missions abroad were found guilty of such acts as assisting ineligible persons to obtain visas; soliciting bribes for real or alluded services; and theft of cost-recovery funds. There were no cases involving Canadian-based staff.

It is time to google for the documents mentioned above. Also, check for news items on the Columbian, Beijing embassy staff and possibly other embassies and scams involving immigration to Canada. There are items on this website, Frost. Link to Prime Time Crime and search McAdam and Read (Hong Kong embassy) and China.

Skim down the government website psepc further and you will find:

Impact of Immigration Irregularities

Such activity incurs both direct and indirect costs to Canada. Fifty-three per cent of last year’s investigations by Citizenship and Immigration Canada required the assistance of the RCMP. [Undermanned and underfunded, still. This document is five years old.] Most ineligible persons who are apprehended after landing in Canada claim refugee status, which incurs administrative costs.

One estimate is that between 8,000 and 16,000 people arrive in Canada every year with the assistance of organized criminal groups at a cost to Canada of between $120 million and $400 million per year [1]. This includes, presumably, living, medical and educational costs, a part of which will be borne by each level of government.

Examples of Corruption: Bribery [. . . . ]

Impact on Individual Canadian Citizens and Public Safety

If corruption is facilitating crime against Canadians, whether here or abroad, there are very real effects on Canadian citizens and public safety. Whether criminals are members of political terrorist organizations, organized crime or are unassociated with such organizations, their activity in our country is a destabilizing factor. [. . . . ]

Impact of International Corruption and Crime

Import/export frauds, drug trafficking and money laundering can be facilitated by the involvement of corrupt foreign public officials. Drug trafficking itself is a source of tremendous wealth for organized crime, and carries with it a train of violence, theft, social disruption, and public health problems. [. . . . ]

Suggested Operational Policies and Priorities

Immigration [. . . . ]

Foreign Aid/CIDA [. . . . ]

What is really worth checking, since there is a paucity of details in this report are the following which are listed near the end of the above report:

Internet Sites

Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)

www.oecd.org/daf/nocorruptionweb/index.html

http://www.oecd.org/subject/bribery/

OECD Ethics & Corruption in the Public Sector - Public Management (PUMA)

www.oecd.org/puma

Internet Centre for Corruption Research (a joint initiative of Goettingen University and Transparency International).

www.gwdg.de/~uwvw/icr.html

Transparency International

www.transparency.org

World Bank - Anti-Corruption Knowledge Center

www.worldbank.org/publicsector/anticorrupt

International Monetary Fund

www.imf.org

U.S. Agency for International Development, Center for Democracy & Governance

www.usaid.gov/democracy/techpubs/

The Nathanson Institute for the Study of Organized Crime and Corruption, York University

www.yorku.ca/nathanson

Transparency International and the Nathanson Institute are worth looking at. There is a list of publications of interest, also.

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