VZCZCXRO7880
RR RUEHJO RUEHMR
DE RUEHMR #0337/01 2601114
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171114Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4379
INFO RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH NH
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 0285
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 4812

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MASERU 000337 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP 
JOHANNESBURG FOR RCO 
FOR CA/VO/KCC 
 
PLEASE PASS TO DHS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC LT
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY-MASERU 
 
a. COUNTRY CONDITIONS:  Lesotho is a landlocked mountainous 
kingdom, located in the geographical center of and completely 
surrounded by the Republic of South Africa.  Popularly known as 
the "mountain kingdom", Lesotho has a land area of 30,355 sq km, 
and a population of 1.88 million people, approximately 250,000 
of whom live in the capital city of Maseru.  The major languages 
are English (official) and Sesotho.  Due to an HIV/AIDS 
prevalence rate of 23.2 %, third highest in the world, life 
expectancy has fallen to 47 years.  Lesotho is a constitutional 
monarchy. King Letsie III neither participates actively in 
political initiatives nor exercises any executive or legislative 
powers.  Executive authority rests in The Prime Minister who is 
the head of government. The Department of State rates Maseru a 
"Critical Crime Threat" post.  Nearly 50% of the population 
lives below the poverty line.  The current per capita income is 
1,600 dollars per annum.  The Government of Lesotho official 
inflation rate is 6.9%.  With an unemployment rate reported to 
be in excess of 23%, crime and drug use are increasingly 
prevalent.  Robberies, burglaries, life-threatening muggings, 
carjacking, and car thefts are common occurrences which increase 
during the December-January holiday season.  Lesotho also serves 
as a final destination for smuggled vehicles.  There are 
frequent reports of hostility toward Asian-Americans and those 
of Asian appearance.  Chinese nationals remain victims of many 
of these violent attacks. 
 
Newspapers report frequent complaints about corrupt public 
officials. However, the incidence of overt fraud in Consular 
operations is low.  Issuance and management of vital records and 
civil documents in Lesotho is characterized by inefficiency and 
limited internal controls.  Automation is gradual and most 
documents present prime targets for abuse, malfeasance, and 
basic human error.  Marriage certificates and visas are created 
and maintained manually.  Unauthorized documents are easily 
obtained from corrupt officials for fraudulent use.  Births and 
other vital events reported by a witness are registered with the 
village chief who, on a regular basis, usually monthly, forwards 
details to the District Administrator (under the Ministry of 
Local Government) and the Office of Statistics in the Ministry 
of Finance.  Currently this multilayered system does not pose a 
major concern but may become so in the future if IVs are ever 
processed at Post.  Certificates are issued in the district 
where the event occurred.  Statistics are also kept by the 
Registrar General in the Ministry of Law, Constitutional, and 
Parliamentary Affairs. 
 
The Consular Section has no definitive evidence of smuggling of 
persons in Lesotho.  Proximity and ease of access to population 
centers make South Africa a popular destination for brief visits 
and for economic migration (legal and illegal).  The Governments 
of South Africa and Lesotho issue six-month border passes to 
facilitate border crossings for shopping and brief family 
visits.  Due to the laxity of immigration officials at border 
crossings, travelers often neglect to apply for visas 
authorizing longer stays.  Due to family ties and ethnic 
similarities, Basotho have been known to fraudulently obtain 
South African passports and identity cards "as insurance" and to 
facilitate studies. Few authentic civil and legal documents in 
Lesotho possess anti-fraud features.  The machine-readable 
passport includes a national identification number which changes 
when the passport is renewed.  Few non-machine-readable versions 
remain in circulation. 
 
Assessment: The level of fraud at post is low. 
 
b. NIV FRAUD: The majority of Post's visa applicants are 
employed by the Government of Lesotho (GOL) or NGOs.  Many apply 
with Diplomatic notes for official travel, and as exchange 
visitors. The majority is well-educated with fluent English. A 
validation study conducted this reporting period on tourist 
visas, resulted with a confirmed overstay rate of .01%. Results 
of the validation study indicate that citizens or nationals of 
Lesotho that are issued a B1, B2, or B1/B2 visa are less likely 
to overstay or show an indication of fraud. Post is vigilant to 
other nationals seeking visas that have obtained Lesotho 
passports with limited time in country. 
 
c. IV FRAUD:  Post does not process IVs. However, post 
adjudicates clearly approvable immediate relative petitions and 
forwards to Consulate Johannesburg. 
 
d. DV FRAUD:  Post does not process DVs. 
 
e. ACS AND U.S. PASSPORT FRAUD:  No cases of ACS or U.S. 
passport fraud were detected this reporting period. 
 
 
MASERU 00000337  002 OF 003 
 
 
f. ADOPTION FRAUD:  In December 2008, The Government of the 
Kingdom of Lesotho lifted the suspension on inter-country 
adoptions for four countries: the U.S., Sweden, The Netherlands 
and Canada.  The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in The 
Government of Lesotho (GOL) is in the process of designating one 
adoption agency to coordinate inter-country adoptions for the 
U.S.  This agency will be responsible for coordinating all 
adoptions, assisting in monitoring the progress of adopted 
children and providing follow-up reports to the Ministry of 
Health and Social Welfare. The Department of Social Welfare 
(DSW) in the Ministry of Health is alert to fraud trends in 
inter-country adoptions and is therefore concerned with 
confirming the adopted child's origin. Post has made regular 
visits with DSW to ensure that post is kept current with any 
changes in adoption procedures. 
 
To date, all adopted children from Lesotho have come from a 
closely controlled organization that provides residential and 
medical care to abandoned, HIV/AIDS affected orphans and 
vulnerable children (OVCs), infants to age five. This orphanage 
networks with the GOL and other organizations to advocate for 
the rights of children and the establishment of an effective 
adoption/foster care program in Lesotho.  As a result, DSW 
prefers to process adoptions of children belonging to this 
orphanage as they are certain that the child's family and 
medical history in question is well documented. Post visited the 
orphanage to learn more of its conditions, operations, and how 
they place the children.  Post has not processed adoption cases 
this reporting period. 
 
g. USE OF DNA TESTING: Post does not process any visas based on 
relationship.  Polygamy is not illegal in Lesotho.  However, it 
is not widespread.  It is not uncommon for members of the royal 
family to marry distant cousins.  While international courier 
services are available in Lesotho, post does not have a panel 
physician.  Should DNA testing be recommended, applicants would 
be referred to a panel physician in Johannesburg for collection 
and shipping of the samples. 
 
h. ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD:  Post processed one case 
of a Cuban applicant requesting parole into the United States 
under the Cuban medical personnel parole program administered by 
DHS.  Post has not documented any fraud in DHS benefit cases. 
 
i. ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, ORGANIZED CRIME, AND TERRORIST 
TRAVEL:  To date post has not documented trends which directly 
impact consular operations.  According to Lesotho's Passport and 
Immigration Services, citizens of some countries such as China, 
India and Bangladesh, have fraudulently obtained legitimate 
Lesotho passports by circumventing the resident requirement 
system.  Lesotho is a transit point for entering South Africa. 
Due to the lack of tracking entry/exit, post is aware of the 
potential for terrorist travel. Previously, the Basotho took 
advantage of visa free travel to the UK as a stepping stone to 
Europe and the United States.  However, as of July 2009 the UK 
withdrew visa waiver privileges for Lesotho. 
 
j. DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS:  The Consular Section has a 
strong and excellent working relationship with Post's first RSO, 
and two LES staff. They are consistently responsive to consular 
requests for assistance and are collaborative with sharing 
critical information.  No cases have been referred to RSO this 
reporting period. 
 
k. HOST COUNTRY PASSPORT, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL 
REGISTRY:  Basotho use their Lesotho passport as proof of 
identity for all banking, business transactions, and regional 
travel. The biodata page of the Lesotho passport contains a 
digitized photograph and is laminated.  In addition to the 
passport number, it also contains a personal identification 
number consisting of the holder's date of birth - dd/mm/yy- 
followed by a letter code indicating place of birth, and 
additional characters whose significance is unclear even after 
talking with officials at the passport office.  The format 
changes each time a passport is renewed.  Legitimately issued 
birth certificates and marriage certificates are prone to 
transcription errors which have caused delays in the renewal of 
U.S. passports. 
 
Blank passport applications are available either from the 
passport office or from the government appointed village chief 
in one's home district (Note: Village chief may not be 
synonymous with the village headman who may only be a 
traditional leader).  As a preliminary step an individual - no 
matter where they were born - must obtain an endorsement, easily 
forged, on the passport application from the village chief of 
 
MASERU 00000337  003 OF 003 
 
 
his/her ancestral village.  A passport fee of 100.00 Maloti 
(about $10.00) is paid to the District sub-accounting office of 
the Ministry of Finance.  The applicant subsequently takes the 
receipt and the endorsed application to the passport office. 
Thus begins what is reported to be up to a two-year wait before 
the passport can be issued.  Currently the media describe small 
scale corruption in the long queues of applicants waiting to 
submit applications and receipts. Slipping the equivalent of 
about $2.50 to a monitor ensures one gets bumped to the head of 
the line!  Queue monitors boast of a take of $10 - $20 per day. 
Once inside the passport office, it is not clear how long 
processing takes.  Some persons report passport pick up after 
only 24 hours, while others continue to wait years.  Officials 
at the Ministry of Home Affairs report plans to streamline 
operations in order to reduce issuance to 30 days. Civil birth 
certificates are easily obtained requiring only the report of a 
witness to a village chief who submits reports to various 
government entities. 
 
l. COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES: Host government 
authorities are cooperative and have willingly assisted in the 
verification of civil documents. 
 
m. AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN: Post has received reports from 
government officials concerned over the ease of acquiring 
legitimate documents, mainly passports, from other government 
officials. In addition to this, the lack of tracking entries and 
exits at ports of entry is also an ongoing concern. 
 
n. STAFFING AND TRAINING: Post's Consular Section consists of 
one Consular Officer/Chief and one LES Consular Assistant; 
neither have participated in formal fraud based training in 
Washington. However, Consular Officer has had extensive 
on-the-job and previous post training at a high level fraud post. 
NOLAN