U.S. diplomat, Guyanese accused of selling visas
CHICAGO, CANA-Reuters - A United States Foreign Service officer and a Guyanese citizen allegedly involved in a visa-selling operation that netted more than US$1 million, have been arrested, government investigators said Monday. Thomas Carroll, 32, economic-commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, and Halim Khan, 36, a citizen of the South American country, were both arrested last Friday, the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago said. After the arrests investigators said they traced more than US$1 million in cash and 10 gold bars belonging to Carroll to a number of banks in the Chicago area. Carroll was arrested at the Chicago-area home of his parents where he was visiting on leave and Khan was arrested in Miami, the announcement said. Both were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and visa fraud. Carroll headed the Embassy's nonimmigrant visa section for a year beginning in March 1998 with sole responsibility for reviewing and deciding on U.S. visa requests from Guyanese and other foreign nationals, investigators said. He allegedly took money for approving visas during that period and continued running the scheme when he became the economic-commercial officer, using another employee at the Embassy who became a government informant. Khan allegedly acted as a broker through whom Carroll operated. Not long before the arrests Carroll, Khan and the informant had discussed selling an additional 250 visas in Guyana for "at least US$1 million in bribes in U.S. currency" once Carroll was reassigned to another country, the announcement said. Investigators said they had seized more than $500,000 and 10 gold bars from safe deposit boxes controlled by Carroll at Chicago-area banks. In addition, they said they had traced another $535,000 to four other banks and had taken steps to tie up those funds. Criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleged that Carroll at one point offered to pay the informant $4,000 for every future visa he approved.
|