Senior Reporter
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Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander’s claims of corruption within the Immigration Division—including allegations that foreigners paid up to $50,000 for work permits and as much as $250,000 for citizenship documents—have triggered fresh political backlash, with former national security minister Marvin Gonzales demanding why no arrests or charges have followed if authorities truly possess evidence of a large-scale racket.
Gonzales told Guardian Media that during his nearly five years serving on the National Security Council, reports of such a racket never once came to light, calling the current allegations “wild statements for news headlines.”
He is now challenging the Government to produce results.
Responding to Guardian Media via telephone yesterday, Gonzales said, “I served on the National Security Council for almost five years and cannot recall any of the national security and intelligence agencies reporting that they have information or evidence of this. But if the Minister and the TTPS (Trinidad and Tobago Police Service) have that evidence, my question is, how many persons have been detained for questioning and likely prosecution? Making wild statements for news headlines cannot be the approach. Tell the country how many persons are detained and will be prosecuted for this alleged scandal.”
Meanwhile, sources within the TTPS are corroborating Alexander’s claims of corruption, confirming that a deep-seated racket has allowed foreign professionals to bypass legal channels by paying tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to fast-track their documents.
However, police sources said the Minister did not unearth a new scheme, nor is it as massive as he is making it out to be.
Over the past three to five years, the TTPS Anti-Corruption Investigative Bureau and the Fraud squad, which form part of the White Collar Crime Division, have been investigating an ongoing operation within the Work Permit Unit, Guardian Media is told.
According to the TTPS, this has been an open secret among high-ranking officials for years, involving mainly professionals such as senior engineers who have worked on major state infrastructure projects like the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) and businessmen from China and India who were able to get three-year work permits.
The scheme often comes to light during renewal periods, when foreign nationals return to extend their permits and audit checks reveal discrepancies. While applicants may possess physical documents that appear to be legitimate, the Ministry’s database sometimes shows no official approval was ever granted for them to work in Trinidad and Tobago.
Guardian Media was reliably informed that, despite years of investigating, few arrests have been made as the police say probes often collapse because evidence is destroyed from inside the Ministry, while foreign suspects often flee the country.
Attempts to contact Alexander, as well as former national security ministers Fitzgerald Hinds and Stuart Young, were unsuccessful up to press time.
