Immigration drive hijacked

Published on Sunday 1 October 2006 00:46

FRAUDSTERS have hijacked the Scottish Executive's flagship policy set up to persuade immigrants to come to Scotland.

Scotland on Sunday has discovered that Jack McConnell's Fresh Talent Initiative, launched amid wide publicity last year, is being use to con African students out of hundreds of pounds.

Students in Nigeria have been approached by conmen posing as British airline officials promising they can get them into Scotland via the scheme, which enables foreign graduates to stay on after they complete their studies. It was intended to persuade talented youngsters to stay in Scotland and find work.

However, government documents obtained by Scotland on Sunday show that the scheme has been seized on by conmen in Nigeria to exploit desperate youngsters who want a new life in Britain.

One student was told he needed to pay a registration fee of 200, and would be helped to reach Scotland. He was then asked for a further 150 'entry clearance fee'. He contacted the Scottish Executive in Edinburgh to find out how his application was going only to be informed he was being conned.

Later that month, officials received another similar enquiry, indicating that a full-blown scam was up and running.

Corruption chiefs in Nigeria have now been informed by the British High Commission in the capital, Abuja. Officials at the High Commission say they are not surprised by the scam, admitting that they are well aware of dozens of others being run in Nigeria, exploiting the thousands of people who every year try to come to Britain.

The deception was revealed in e-mails sent between the Scottish Executive and the Foreign Office, released under the Freedom of Information Act.

In January this year, the Scottish Executive was contacted by one Nigerian student. In an internal e-mail to the Foreign Office, an official declares: "He claims to have been approached by one individual who claimed to be working for a British airline and promised to help him get into Scotland on the Fresh Talent scheme.

"He claims to have given this woman 200 as a registration fee... he says he wants to know what is happening with his application as he is now being asked for a further 150 entry clearance fee. He mentions someone called [CENSORED] who is claiming to be a UK agent working for the Fresh Talent scheme."

The Scottish Executive official goes on: "He is quite clearly being ripped off... we are concerned that this scheme [Fresh Talent], and the Executive's name, is being used in this way."

In another e-mail later that month, the same official records: "We have now received a further enquiry from Nigeria which suggests that this scam is continuing. In this one, we have been told about a UK e-mail account which claims to be handling Fresh Talent applications."

A spokesman for the High Commission in Nigeria said such scams were common-place in what is one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

He said: "We see them virtually on a daily basis. The amount of time and effort that goes into them is amazing. They are very clever."

The spokesman said that the commission was now handling 1,100 visa applications a day from Nigerians.

Nearly 2,000 foreigners have so far successfully applied to stay in Scotland under the Fresh Talent scheme.

Applicants will only be successful if they graduate in Scotland. Rather than having then to leave immediately if they do not find work, they can stay on for two years. So far nine Nigerians have successfully been allowed to stay on since the scheme began. The vast majority are from either India or China.

The scheme was created as part of the Scottish Executive's drive to turn around the country's historic population decline and to attract well-qualified foreigners into the country.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said: "Obviously, this was an unfortunate incident for the individuals concerned. The instructions that are set down for Fresh Talent are clear. No further incidents have been brought to our attention."

According to the international watchdog Transparency International, Nigeria is the sixth most corrupt country in the world.