Siena:The Department of Home Affairs has acknowledged the arrest of two former employees involved in a syndicate that illegally issued South African passports to foreign nationals, charging up to R100,000 each.
According to South African Government News Agency, The fraudulent activity exploited an outdated manual process, using a method referred to as "photo swapping." This involved using the identity information of legitimate South African citizens to issue passports with photographs of foreign nationals.
The arrests were the result of a joint investigation conducted by the department's Counter Corruption Unit and the Hawks, which exposed the syndicate in 2022.
Home Affairs highlighted the importance of digital transformation to prevent such fraud, stating that the new biometric verification system links applicants to their identities throughout the application process, closing the loophole of photo substitution.
The department is expanding its Digital Partnership with banks to enhance access to secure Smart ID Cards through digitally integrated processes. By automating identity verification, the department aims to reduce opportunities for corruption by limiting human discretion.
Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber emphasized that the outdated manual processes had long facilitated fraudulent passport acquisition and that the digital reforms aim to eliminate these vulnerabilities. The reforms are designed to prevent fraud and corruption by design rather than merely detecting them post-occurrence.
Since the beginning of the seventh administration, the department has dismissed 98 officials and arrested 42 as part of its ongoing anti-corruption efforts. Schreiber praised the department's Counter Corruption Unit and the Hawks for their dedication to eliminating corruption.