Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 27, 2006
Online edition of India's National Newspaper Sunday, Aug 27, 2006 |
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Washington: A senior State Department official has been charged with accepting gifts and trips to Las Vegas and New York with exotic dancers from an Indian national to speed up the visa process for a jewellery company. The official, Michael John O'Keefe, deputy Non Immigrant Visa Chief at the American Consulate in Toronto was indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday. Sunil Agrawal, a native of India and the chief executive of New York-based STS Jewels, has also been charged. It is said that Agrawal sent the State Department visa official the names of employees who needed to work in the company and O'Keefe apparently scheduled them outside the normal visa process. According to the indictment, O'Keefe supposedly "fast tracked" the applications and brushed aside objections from a subordinate who had noted that terrorists use jewellery to raise money. In return for the expedited service, O'Keefe was plied with gifts. Friday's indictment, however, describes a scheme in which O'Keefe fast-tracked applications and approved some that had been rejected. The prosecution has said that this June after five approval visas for STS Managers, O'Keefe and two exotic dancers flew to Las Vegas. — PTI
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