75% of immigrant organizations in
Oslo are getting money from
Oslo municipality through false
Pretences and by colluding with
Some corrupt municipal officials
Oslo municipality has fallen victim of a number of immigrant organizations that through false pretences get funding for projects that do not exist. Most of the organizations in question use projects that do not exist to get the money and thereafter file false reports to indicate that the projects have been completed and yet none of the said projects ever took off at all.
Some organizations even after being reported by to the officials who give them the money have not been punished.
API can now reveal that the said organizations have not been punished because some of the officials in the municipality collude with the organization leaders so steal the money from the Municipality.
The scheme is simple. The organizations file a false report and acquire the money and the officer in the municipality aware of the false documentation agrees with the applicant to approve the documents on condition that the money be shared 50/50 between the organization and the official releasing the money. This has continued now for a number of years.
Misusing public funds – Leaders summoned to the municipality to answer the charges
During a KIM (An advisory committee that advices the government on immigrant issues) meeting in Oslo recently, the question as to why the Municipality is allowing the organizations to steal tax-payers money was raised and the politicians present during the meeting promised to take action in order to put a stop to the scam.
API has now learnt that the officials in the municipality have decided to take steps and have now started summoning some organizations to meetings starting Monday 29th, June to go and explain how they have used the money they were given. The scam has to be stamped out.
Some of the organizations that misused the money will not be able to satisfy the municipality. They never started any projects as alleged in the documents they filed in the municipality as returns showing completed projects that never was.
In some cases, the municipality demands that the organizations getting funding must have members who pay their membership fee to the organization. Many organizations have been managing to fool the municipal officials by submitting false lists to indicate that they have members and yet they do not.
They simply get the telephone directory and randomly pick names and addresses, thereafter sign for them as members of the organization. The same leaders pay the membership fees for non-existing members. By doing this, they manage to get money for each member from the municipality because in some cases money is paid to organizations according to how many members they have. Some organizations are even going further than that.
Where has the money gone – Proforma business?
Some organizations have misused all the money while others have only misused half of the money given to them. In some cases the money goes to help persons dealing with proforma marriages, people who need to come to Norway and do not have the money to show as guarantee to the authorities in order to get visas. When these people who get help from organizations get settled in the country, they are asked by the same organization leaders who stood for them in the first place to pay a thank you fee for the help they got to enter and settle in the country. The money from the municipality, instead of going to projects as stipulated in the organization’s application, is put into criminal activities when it is used to fool the authorities in connection with required quarantees before people are issued with visas to travel to Norway.
Organization leaders should be investigated by the police
Leaders of these organizations should be refused any more funds and made to pay back what they have stolen and at the same time they should become subject of police investigation.
Recently an immigrant organization led by a Pakistani group accused by TV2 of misuse of funds and false membership register. It remains to be seen what the municipality will do with the organization that also got over 200 thousand kroner from the ministry of foreign affairs to host a seminar on religion.
Making public the names of organizations and board members
API will soon publish the list of all suspected organizations and the names of their registered board members. This information (names of organizations and leaders is not subject to the secrecy act and may be made public due to the fact that they have been receiving public funding.
In the future, API will also be publishing the names of all the organizations and its leadership, including the money they get and the projects they propose to start when they ask for the money. By making everything public like the accounts, places the projects are said to have taken place, and how many people participated in the events will stop scams and corruption.
It is important that organizations getting the money by application and using members’ names to acquire such monies must use the money given on the projects that benefit the members instead of putting the money in their own pockets and turning them into private use in private business promotions.
From African Press International (Oslo)
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