Hanoi:The Department of Home Affairs has announced the arrest of two former officials involved in a syndicate that issued fraudulent South African passports to foreign nationals for up to R100,000 each.
According to South African Government News Agency, the officials exploited weaknesses in a manual process to issue these passports through a method called "photo swapping." This method used the identity details of legitimate South African citizens to obtain passports with photographs of foreign nationals.
These arrests are the result of a joint investigation by the department's Counter Corruption Unit and the Hawks, who uncovered the syndicate in 2022. The department stated that the case highlights the importance of its ongoing digital transformation efforts. The new biometric verification system now links applicants to their identities throughout the application process, effectively closing the loophole that allowed criminals to replace a South African citizen's photograph with that of a foreign national.
The department's digital reforms also include a Digital Partnership with banks, aimed at expanding access to Smart ID Cards through secure and digitally integrated processes. By automating identity verification and reducing human discretion, Home Affairs is systematically reducing opportunities for corruption.
Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber emphasized that outdated manual processes had created opportunities for criminal syndicates to exploit and fraudulently obtain passports. He stressed that the digital transformation is not only about improving speed and convenience but fundamentally changing operations to prevent fraud and corruption by design.
Since the seventh administration began, 98 Home Affairs officials have been dismissed and 42 arrested in the department's ongoing efforts to combat corruption. Schreiber praised the Counter Corruption Unit and the Hawks for their persistent work in rooting out corruption.