Operation Papyrus, aimed at regularizing illegal immigrants in Geneva for three years, is the pride of the Geneva authorities. The Council of State announced in March that nearly 2,000 people had been regularized since 2017 “according to strict criteria”, including a minimum command of the French language, through an examination. However, a recent criminal investigation and two arrests this month suggest that there is a risk of fraud in the files which are submitted in particular to the Cantonal Office of Population and Migration (OCPM).
According to our information, a Kosovar was arrested on January 13. He is suspected of having helped dozens of compatriots to pick up the door by producing false documents. The Coercive Measures Tribunal (TMC) ordered the accused’s pre-trial detention for three months. Particularly because of the risk of leakage and collusion. Indeed, the investigation, which covers more than a hundred files, will have to determine whether there are other protagonists likely to be worried by the justice.
Several investigations in progress
Contacted, Marc Guéniat, spokesman for the judiciary, first confirms that “the Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the production of false documents in regularization procedures undertaken within the framework of the Papyrus program. Several investigations are underway against individuals who have produced false documents. “It is the first prosecutor Stéphane Grodecki who is in charge of the file.
“At the same time,” continues the communications manager, “an in-depth investigation was carried out against an accused suspected of having drawn up and produced several false documents for remuneration. Investigations are continuing to determine the extent of the fraud affecting the Papyrus program. “
According to our information, the accused claims to have simply given a helping hand to members of his community. For this he billed for his services. Was the price excessive? Did he understand the production of a fake to facilitate obtaining sesame? The investigation, which deals with events between 2017 and 2019, is only at the beginning. The investigations will also serve to verify, for example, whether the suspect did not bring in Kosovars who had never stayed in Switzerland before.
Defended by Me Catarina Monteiro Santos, the defendant arrested will be heard several times this winter by the courts. The Geneva lawyer declined to comment on the procedure. According to our information, another arrest took place Monday morning for another aspect of the case.
An exception
“It is the controls of the OCPM which made it possible to identify the situations of fraud, which were reported to the Public Prosecutor”, specifies Laurent Paoliello, spokesperson of the Department of security, employment and health (DSES). Without going into the particular case of the procedure, the latter recalls that “the Papyrus operation is not akin to an amnesty or a mass regularization; regularization requests are therefore examined on a case-by-case basis by the OCPM. Suspected fraud that may appear after this examination is reported to the criminal authorities. Such problematic cases remain the exception compared to all the files filed and are not, moreover, specific to the Papyrus operation. ”
Also read: Geneva and undocumented migrants, a unique case
As a reminder, according to estimates by the Federal State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Geneva has around 13,000 illegal immigrants. The operation helped to regularize 1,846 people last spring, including 365 families (566 parents and 610 children). Fourteen couples without children as well as 642 singles have also obtained their B permit.
In all, between 2,500 and 3,500 people are expected to be regularized as files remain under examination (1,757 people last March). “The data collected, however, shows, not surprisingly, that the vast majority of files (74%) concern the domestic economy sector. Next come hotels and restaurants (6%) and construction (5%). “
Operation Papyrus aimed, in compliance with the legal framework, to relax the ordinary admission conditions for the regularization of undocumented migrants.
Each family member must be able to provide proof of a continuous period of five years. The Papyrus project limited this justification to a single family member. The level of knowledge of French is taken into account, as is the absence of a criminal conviction and complete financial independence.
Created: 28.01.2020, 06:48
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