The Argentinian court suspected the Russian embassy and the migration service of being involved in operating programs to import pregnant women into the country for childbirth and to obtain a residence permit. About this with reference to their own sources writing Argentinian edition of Infobae.
Argentina has opened an investigation into money laundering by Russians who recently arrived in the country, who used the services of agencies through Family and others, reports Infobae. These agencies offered Russian women to rent accommodation in Buenos Aires for $3,500 to $15,000, give birth in a private or public clinic, and issue Argentine documents.
One of these agencies, ArgentinaFamily, created by Russians Elena Kuklina and Ruslan Yuldashev, allegedly submitted false documents to the National Migration Agency in order to obtain permanent residence permits for Russian couples who had a child in Argentina. , writes Infobae. After that, parents can apply for Argentine citizenship.
As part of the investigation, the security forces requested data on bank payments of agency employees, transfers to clinics and hospitals, as well as information on cross-calls from the agency ArgentinaFamily and other similar offices.
Infobae sources close to the investigation say the billing helped calculate two phone numbers that match the numbers for the Russian Embassy in Argentina – these are the numbers the suspects allegedly called. Now the court would demand to determine who exactly in the Russian diplomatic mission from January 2022 to May 2023 owned these numbers, as well as the function performed by embassy employees in “maternity tourism” programs.
The Argentine court also demanded a list of all employees of the National Directorate of Migration headquarters who have worked there since June 2022. Investigators suspect that department personnel may have also been involved in the schemes, accepting and not contesting not fake residency documents and “citizenship cards” from agencies. So far, no charges have been filed against any immigration officer.
Argentina against “ancestral tourism”
The scandal over the entry of pregnant Russian women into Argentina erupted in early November, when six Russian women were barred from entering the country. The migration service then doubted that the purpose of their trip was tourism, but later they were all allowed to enter. After this incident, Argentina begin suspend the residence permit of Russians who received documents after the birth of a child, but did not stay in the country. The Migration Service found that hundreds of women used the services of agencies offering “maternity tourism” services.
MP Jose Manuel Lopez told Russian media that Argentina does not want the country to become a “safe haven” for those who want to hide from sanctions. He also did not rule out that the Russians could use the simplified immigration law for espionage purposes.
“I don’t rule out this hypothesis, and we are working on it, because the number of people who entered the country last year is simply incredible, and there have been events in the world, for example, the arrest in Slovenia of an intelligence agent who apparently posed as an Argentinian”, – he said.
The director of Argentina’s Department of Migration, Florencia Carignano, told Russian media that Argentina is not happy with the practice of “birth tourism” – a child born in the country receives Argentine citizenship under the “right of the sol”, and his parents can apply for a residence permit. According to Carignano, about 21,000 Russians arrived in the country in 2022, half of them pregnant women, including 7,000 LEFT out of the country after giving birth.
The Russian Foreign Ministry told Russian media that it had not received a call from the Argentine side regarding pregnant Russian women. At the same time, the department stressed that it remains in contact with Buenos Aires in terms of protecting and respecting the rights of Russians. The Foreign Ministry has also advised Russian citizens to be careful when contacting various agencies and to ensure that they follow local laws.
“Considering that some misunderstandings periodically arise when entering this South American country, we would like to draw the attention of Russians and Russian women intending to visit Argentina on the legal side of this trip. We recommend that you calculate all possible risks, including if you plan to contact agencies operating in Argentina that position themselves as “immigration advice centers”, so that the operator you have chosen operates in the under Argentine law and be trustworthy,” the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of Information and Press stressed.
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