U.S. visa accused threatens possible witnesses - Chicago court told Agents coming here to continue probe Guyana Chronicle March 23, 2000 THE former United States diplomat accused of running a visa for bribes racket with a Guyanese here has been refused bail because agents claim that he has personally threatened witnesses. Thomas Carroll, in charge of issuing visas at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown for a year, was yesterday formally charged in Chicago with conspiracy to commit visa fraud; producing false visas and bribery. Mr Randall Samborn, Public Information Officer for the Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago, told the Chronicle that Carroll was indicted on the three charges and ordered held without bond (bail) by Magistrate Morton Denlow. His alleged Guyanese accomplice, Halim Khan, of the West Demerara, remained in custody in Miami where he was held Friday, Samborn said. The Chronicle understands that U.S. agents were due here last night to follow leads from the undercover operation that led to the arrest of Carroll and Khan. Sources said Khan owns a restaurant and several houses on the West Demerara and investigators may be tracing the origin of his finances. Samborn said Carroll appeared in court dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is to appear in court again on April 11. Investigators have increased the value of the assets seized from Carroll to US$1.8M from US$1.3M, Samborn said. He said other reasons given for asking that he be held without bond are: ** agents have seized an Irish Republic passport in Carroll's name; ** he and his wife who is Taiwanese are both fluent in Chinese and have lived in Beijing, China and Taiwan with which the U.S. has no extradition treaty; ** there may be more money that he can access that investigators have not found, and ** he has personally threatened possible witnesses. Samborn said the defence asked for Carroll to be released on bond with his family in Chicago offering to post more than US$500,000 in assets. The magistrate told them to come back with a more specific proposal that he can consider but no hearing is scheduled, the spokesman said. U.S. investigators are also trying to track down the visas Carroll allegedly sold for bribes to Guyanese and other foreign nationals here. Officials say it is not known how many visas the former U.S. Embassy official allegedly sold in the scam with Khan. Samborn said that "as part of the continuing investigation, we are trying to follow up on the visas that are suspect and what happened with those (the persons) involved." Officials at a press conference in Chicago Monday could not say what types of people would be willing to pay a bribe to obtain a visa or if any of them remain illegally in the U.S. The State Department and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service are trying to track down those still in the U.S. on the fraudulent visas, one official told reporters. As a result of the case, the U.S. Embassy here has suspended issuing non-immigrant visas unless in special emergency cases. Carroll, 32, well-known to media personnel here, was arrested Friday while visiting his parents in suburban Chicago. Although he made less than US$50,000 a year in his job at the embassy, investigators have seized or frozen US$1.8M in cash, gold bars and other assets held by him in Chicago-area financial institutions. Samborn said the gold bars weigh about 100 ounces each and are worth about US$300,000. Khan, 36, described by investigators as a middleman who solicited visa business for Carroll, was arrested at Miami airport as he prepared to board a flight to Guyana. U.S. authorities said Khan is also known as `Keith' and `Noel'. Samborn said Khan is being held in Miami until the first week next month when he has a court hearing to be transferred to Chicago. A Chicago native, Carroll was a State Department foreign service officer for eight years. The federal probe began last year after two confidential sources told investigators they had been solicited by intermediaries who said they had a contact at the U.S. Embassy willing to sell visas, authorities said. A break in the case came last month when Carroll, routinely shifted to other responsibilities at the embassy here, tried to enlist his replacement in the visa post to join in the bribery scheme, authorities said. The undisclosed official tipped off authorities and agreed to work undercover, wearing a concealed recorder to tape numerous conversations with Carroll, according to the charges. Details provided by the U.S. Justice Department said Carroll was stationed here for the last two years. The complaints allege that both men were conspiring to sell 250 additional U.S. visas in Guyana in exchange for at least US$1M in bribes in US currency. According to law enforcement affidavits attached to the complaints, authorities began investigating the selling of visas in Guyana by Carroll in June 1999. The investigation began after confidential sources told investigators they had been solicited by intermediaries for the purchase of U.S. visas. Khan allegedly was a broker that Carroll used as an intermediary between himself and the purchasers of U.S. visas. From March 1998 to March 1999, Carroll's duties included those of Vice Consul and Chief of the Non-Immigrant Visa Section of the U.S. Embassy here, in which capacity he had sole responsibility for reviewing and adjudicating applications for U.S. visas by Guyanese nationals and other foreign nationals. In March 1999, Carroll was routinely transferred within the U.S. Embassy and became the Economic/Commercial Officer, in which capacity he no longer regularly adjudicated visa applications. The charges said that around February this year, Carroll solicited another employee at the embassy, who is cooperating in the investigation, to approve U.S. visas of designated individuals in exchange for money. The two officials engaged in numerous conversations, many of which were secretly recorded in Guyana and elsewhere concerning the illegal sale of U.S. visas, according to the affidavits. In February and early March of this year, Carroll allegedly told the cooperating witness (CW) that he would pay for approving visas and that when Carroll left Guyana, as he was anticipating, he would introduce the CW to another individual to act as the CW's local contact in Guyana for the sale of visas. According to the charges, between February 25 and 28, 2000, Carroll paid the CW about $40,000 in US currency for approving visas. Carroll also offered to pay the CW US$4,000 for each future visa if the CW granted visas to applicants identified by Carroll. The CW subsequently left Guyana for Miami, where he and Carroll arranged to meet to discuss the sale of U.S. visas, the affidavits said. Carroll and Khan arrived in Miami on March 16, according to the complaints, and after clearing customs, met with the CW at the airport to arrange for the continuation of the visa-selling scheme by the CW in Guyana. Agents pounced on Khan and Carroll the next day.