10 arrested in residence permit scandal in Germany

BERLIN

German police arrested 10 suspects on Wednesday for providing residency permits to foreigners in return for bribes of tens of thousands of euros.


The members of the international human smuggling group included two lawyers and several employees of immigration offices in North Rhine-Westphalia, public broadcaster ARD reported citing investigators.


Around 350 foreign nationals paid €30,000-€35,000 ($31,900-$32,432) to obtain residence permits, according to the report. Majority of them were Chinese nationals, while others were from Arab countries.


In large-scale raids, around 1,000 security officers did searches at nearly 100 houses and offices in eight federal states, seized various documents and electronic devices, according to the investigators.