VZCZCXRO5289
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHEK #0470/01 1351059
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151059Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BISHKEK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2190
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH NH
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 3872
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0174
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0274

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BISHKEK 000470 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP AND CA/VO; 
DEPT PASS TO KCC 
POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS; 
FRANKFURT FOR KBROUGHAM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC KG
 
SUBJECT: KYRGYZSTAN FRAUD SUMMARY SEPTEMBER - MARCH 2009 
 
REF: A) Bishkek 1023 
      B) State 74840 
 
¶1.  Country Conditions:  Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic of 
five million people, is a country in transition.  Corruption 
pervades almost all aspects of life and business in the Kyrgyz 
Republic.  Kyrgyzstan was ranked as one of the most corrupt 
countries in the world in a recent Forbes magazine article.  Poverty 
and high unemployment leads many to pursue work abroad, 
overwhelmingly in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan.  Recent 
press reports estimate approximately 500,000 Kyrgyz citizens are 
living abroad and remitting salaries home.  Inflation this past year 
is estimated to be 25 - 30%. 
 
Conditions in Kyrgyzstan vary between the north, where the majority 
population are Kyrgyz and the terrain is mountainous, and the south 
which contains part of the Ferghana valley and a large ethnic Uzbek 
population.  Kyrgyzstan's ethnic minorities also include Russians 
who remained after the collapse of the Soviet Union, ethnic Germans, 
Koreans, Uighers and other peoples of Central Asia.  It has not been 
unusual in the past for members of these groups to claim asylum in 
the U.S. based on either religious beliefs or for political reasons. 
 While there is occasionally some tension amongst various groups, 
there have been no serious recent conflicts or organized repression 
of ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan. 
 
Agriculture plays an important role in the Kyrgyz economy. 
Unemployment, according to different measures, is estimated to be 12 
- 18%.  As mentioned above, a significant portion of population work 
abroad and remit approximately $710 million USD back to Kyrgyzstan - 
a figure that is approximately 60% of the national budget.  Banks 
are generally not trusted or utilized by the average citizen, which 
results in the majority of people maintaining their savings in hard 
currency.  As a result of the recent global economic crisis and 
increases in food and fuel prices, conditions have become more 
difficult for the average Kyrgyz citizen over the last year.  Travel 
to and from the Kyrgyz Republic is difficult and expensive.  The 
majority of Kyrgyz will vacation within Kyrgyzstan rather than 
abroad.  It is very rare to encounter an NIV applicant who has 
traveled to destinations other than Kazakhstan or Russia. 
 
¶2. NIV Fraud: 
 
NIV fraud is usually detected during the interview process and is 
refused under 214 (b) of the INA.  NIV fraud primarily consists of 
fraudulent supporting documents, such as bad letters of invitation, 
false bank statements, or false job letters.  Post does not give 
credence to such documents during routine interviews.  However, this 
is a problem when processing student visas.  The reporting period 
saw a steady stream of applicants wishing to study at community 
colleges or English as a Second Language (ESL) programs that are 
low-cost and located where friends or relatives live in the US. New 
York remains the destination of choice for both tourists and 
students who apply for NIVs.  The majority of applicants will only 
open a bank account locally within days of the visa interview and 
deposit the minimum amount of funds required by the I-20 form.  The 
education system in Kyrgyzstan is notoriously corrupt and grades 
cannot be relied upon as an accurate indicator.  Most students will 
take the semester or year off of their studies to go to the US.  In 
order to receive credit for their studies abroad, they are supposed 
to study in a related field to their major.  Post has seen that this 
is not the case with most student visa applicants. 
 
During this past reporting period, Post encountered several cases of 
individuals posing as journalists in order to receive I 
non-immigrant visas.  Post's first fraudulent "journalist" applied 
with credentials supplied by Kyrgyz National Radio and Television 
Company.  Her purpose of travel was to cover the matches of a Kyrgyz 
boxer based in Las Vegas.  Subsequent to issuance, post read of her 
immediate marriage to said boxer in a local newspaper article which 
described her as the long-term girlfriend of the athlete.  Further 
investigation revealed that she had never worked as a journalist and 
had been dismissed from her position as a clerk.  Her credentials 
had been provided by a member of the Kyrgyz government. 
 
The second group of journalists post encountered consisted of three 
applicants, applying with a diplomatic note from the Kyrgyz Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs (MFA), stating that they intended to spend one 
year in the U.S. producing documentary films.  Local staff 
immediately noted that the "editor," a former wrestler, had been 
involved in a scandal a few years ago involving the misappropriation 
of merino sheep donated by the Australian government to improve the 
quality of Kyrgyz livestock.  None of the applicants had any 
 
BISHKEK 00000470  002 OF 004 
 
 
journalism experience, nor could they produce examples of their 
work.  The salaries they were allegedly going to be paid while in 
the U.S. were barely above the poverty guidelines and represented a 
major investment for a Kyrgyz company - yet no one had ever heard of 
this company.  Initial checks failed to discover any real existing 
office space or place of employment - only an empty warehouse. 
During the interview, the applicants claimed to have offices in 
Japan and South Korea.  Furthermore, none of the applicants could 
coherently articulate the exact nature of their activities and how 
they would accomplish their projects once in the U.S.  FPU Tokyo and 
FPU Seoul confirmed that this television company never existed in 
any of those locations.  This instance of document fraud confirmed 
recent rumors of increased corruption in the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs.  The British Embassy in Astana reported that they received 
identical applications from the same company.  Other foreign 
embassies have reported that diplomatic passports are being issued 
in new identities and that places in official delegations are being 
offered for sale.  While post has not encountered any fraud in 
diplomatic or official visa applications, it is carefully reviewing 
all such applications it now receives. 
 
Post is in the process of preparing for 2009 Summer Work and Travel 
(SWT) applications.  In FY 2008, post processed 1,035 SWT 
applications.  Post was pleasantly surprised to find very few cases 
of fraudulent students.  However a validation study revealed that 
25% of issued students failed to return (Note: in FY 2007, 35% of 
student failed to return. End Note.)  Of that 25%, approximately 50% 
of students changed status to F-1 visas - thus evading thorough 
review of their future intentions.  The majority of these students 
were attending Kyrgyzstan's most expensive and prestigious 
universities.  In most cases, students changed status and enrolled 
in less expensive community colleges. 
 
¶3. IV Fraud: Post has seen no significant trends in IV fraud. The 
majority of marriage cases involve Kyrgyz citizens marrying US 
citizen who are local contractors or servicemen on active duty. 
Post has seen an increase in U.S. petitioners incorrectly completing 
the I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative.  It is not unusual for the 
petitioner to "forget" to list previous marriages so as to avoid 
having to secure copies of divorce records for petitions.  IV's for 
Kyrgyz citizens are processed in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 
 
¶4. DV Fraud: Post does not process diversity visas. 
 
¶5. ACS and Passport Fraud: Passport and CRBA issuance is relatively 
low in Bishkek.  The large number of contractors working at the 
nearby coalition airbase has increased the number of marriage-based 
petitions filed as well as CRBA applications. 
 
During the reporting period, post encountered one case of a CRBA 
that may have been issued erroneously.  In November 2008, post 
received a poison pen from a local citizen claiming to be the father 
of a child documented as a U.S. citizen in 2005. Review of the 
application indicated that the child had not been born in wedlock 
and the local citizen's claim could potentially be plausible.  The 
transmitting U.S. parent later married the mother and allegedly 
fathered another child who has not been documented.  However, he has 
since divorced the child's mother, reportedly over the fact that the 
oldest child is not his.  The mother re-married another U.S. citizen 
and is attempting to apply for a new passport for the oldest child. 
Post has suspended the case pending the results of DNA testing with 
the reported U.S. citizen father. 
 
Post has seen an increase in potential wire fraud against U.S. 
citizens.  As with other former Soviet countries, U.S. citizens are 
meeting alleged single women via the internet.  As the on-line 
relationship develops, these women begin requesting money.  In the 
cases seen this past reporting period, U.S. citizens are instructed 
to wire money either directly to the "women, "to "the visa center" 
or their new "e-gold wire money system" which promises visa issuance 
and plane ticket purchase in one transaction.  Post received 
increasing numbers of e-mails from U.S. citizens requesting 
confirmation of the "visa center" and the visa application 
requirements.  In some of the e-mails, a complete address and 
telephone number was provided.  Post's investigation showed that the 
addresses are non-existent and the telephone numbers are false.  The 
scammer usually asks for $2,000 - $4,000 US from the potential 
victim.  Post worked with RSO on these investigations and informed 
inquirers of the dangers of money transfer to unknown parties. 
 
¶6. Adoption Fraud: Changes to the Kyrgyz Family Code in 2006 led 
directly to a dramatic increase in the number of Kyrgyz children 
adopted by US citizens.  Kyrgyzstan ranked #18 on CI's list of top 
 
BISHKEK 00000470  003.3 OF 004 
 
 
20 adoption source countries for FY 2007.  For the past three years, 
Post has reported its concerns regarding the lack of internal 
controls in the Kyrgyz adoption process.  In FY 2007 and FY 2009, 
post encountered several adoptions that contradicted Kyrgyz law and 
procedures.  Post saw several cases in which children as young as 
two weeks old were approved for international adoption - depriving 
local citizens of their right under law for first choice.  In 
October 2008, the Kyrgyz government ceased processing adoptions with 
no warning or explanation.  The Minister of Education and the Deputy 
Minister of Education were dismissed in January 2009.  Meetings with 
the Kyrgyz Vice-Prime Minister on Social Issues revealed that there 
are twenty-four children that the Kyrgyz government cannot trace. 
The government believes that they have been adopted abroad but 
cannot be sure.  In March 2008, the Prosecutor General's Office 
announced that at least 100 Kyrgyz children have been adopted abroad 
illegally.  (Note: Embassy Bishkek processed 72 I-604 Investigations 
in FY 2008.  There are no reports of any significant numbers of 
adoptions by other nationalities. End Note) According to the 
reports, documents from the Ministry of Education, such as the 
official permission or official approval, had been forged as cases 
were turned over to the local courts.  In one case, a Bishkek judge 
denied an adoption request.  The child was then transferred to 
another city where the adoption was immediately approved by another 
judge.  To date, there are approximately 65 U.S. families waiting to 
complete their adoptions. 
 
 
 
¶7. Use of DNA testing: During the reporting period, post had one 
case that required DNA testing. Please see the section on ACS and 
Passport Fraud for further details.  In general, post rarely 
performs or has need to perform DNA testing. 
 
¶8. Asylum and other DHS benefit fraud: Post does not normally 
process any asylum cases but is occasionally called upon to verify 
locally issued documents supporting asylum and immigration 
applications at other posts. 
 
¶9. Alien Smuggling, Trafficking, Organized Crime, and Terrorist 
Travel: Kyrgyzstan is a country of origin and transit for human 
trafficking.  As per Bishkek's 2009 Trafficking in Person's (TIP) 
report, trafficking occurs for both forced labor and sexual 
exploitation.  The majority of trafficking victims travel to 
Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey or the UAE.  Recent press reports 
indicate that there is a small, growing number of Central Asians who 
make their way to New York and other destinations in the U.S. 
However the extent of this problem is not currently known. 
 
Due to the widespread sale of the pre-2005 Kyrgyz passport, the US 
government ceased to recognize it as a valid travel document.  This 
old version of the Kyrgyz passport was discovered to be a key tool 
for traffickers in transporting people out of Kyrgyzstan to other 
destinations. 
 
The Embassy places restrictions on USG personnel for travel to 
certain parts of Kyrgyzstan, such as Batken Oblast, to security and 
terrorism concerns.  In 2006, suspected militants attacked a border 
post in the Batken region.  The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and 
other terrorist organizations remain active in Central Asia.  Press 
reports during the reporting period report "invasions" by Tajiks 
into Kyrgyz valleys.  Land borders, especially in the South, are 
easily crossed by nationals of neighboring countries.  Citizen of 
CIS countries do not need a passport to enter Kyrgyzstan - only an 
ID card. 
 
¶10. DS Criminal Investigations: Post does not have an RSO-I but 
works well the RSO on related cases.  Post has not referred any 
cases to RSO for investigation during this reporting period. 
 
¶11. Host Country Passport, Identity Documents, and Civil Registry: 
Practically any document issued in the country can be fraudulently 
obtained, for a price.  The procedures for issuance of civil 
documents are similar to those in the Russian Federation and other 
former Soviet Republics.  A birth or death is recorded on a 
certificate called a spravka issues by a hospital.  This certificate 
is usually a flimsy piece of newsprint that is completed by hand. 
It has no security features other than a stamp.  The bearer then 
files this certificate with their regional Vital Records Office 
known locally as ZAGS (Zapisi Aktov Grazhdonskovo Sostoyanoye). 
Birth certificates are only issued for Kyrgyz citizens.  The only 
record of birth for foreigners would be the certificate issued by 
the hospital where the birth occurred - a document that is 
vulnerable to fraud. 
 
BISHKEK 00000470  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
Previous negligence in the Kyrgyz passport agency led to their 
availability on the black market in several countries.  This led to 
the de-recognition of the 1994 Kyrgyz passport, which has recently 
been replaced by the 2004 version.  While a significantly more 
secure document than the previous passport, it is still vulnerable 
to fraud based on the documents presented to obtain a passport. 
During the reporting period, post received reports of passports and 
birth certificates being sold by various government officials 
including the Kyrgyz MFA.  The previous head of the Kyrgyz Consular 
Department was dismissed in December 2008 for reportedly selling 
official passports.  Recent reports indicate that others are 
continuing this practice. 
 
¶12. Cooperation with Kyrgyz authorities: Cooperation with the 
host-government on visa and immigration matters is good.  Post 
continues to build its relationship with the airport Border Guards 
as mentioned in Ref A. 
 
¶13. Areas of particular concern: Post's major areas of concern are 
adoption fraud and the continuation of the Summer Work and Travel 
Program.  As noted above, adoptions have completely halted leaving 
65 families with no recourse.  Many of these families have been 
waiting over one year to complete their adoptions.  As stated above, 
the Prosecutor General has opened several investigations into child 
trafficking and illegal adoptions. 
 
¶14. Staffing and training: Currently, the Fraud Prevention Unit is 
staffed by the Consular Section Chief, who is the sole consular 
officer at post, and a Fraud Investigator.  The consular officer 
received CA's Anti-fraud Training course at FSI.  The new Fraud 
Investigator has completed CA's on-line fraud training, is in the 
process of completing the consular correspondence courses, and has 
attended Anti-Fraud Training at FSI. 
 
GFOELLER