Washington, Aug. 27: An Indian jeweller with a worldwide business network stretching from Japan and Thailand to the UK and Brazil is on the run for bribing a US state department official with free flights, exotic dancers and hotel rooms in exchange for American visas.
The US diplomat, a deputy non-immigrant visa chief at the US consulate in Toronto, was yesterday indicted here on bribery and conspiracy charges.
The diplomat, Michael John ’Keefe, 59, and the Indian, Sunil Agarwal, 47, face up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 if convicted.
Agarwal is chief executive of STS Jewelers, one of North America’s leading dealers in tanzanite, a rare gem primarily found in Africa.
The case is not a routine one of businessmen trying to obtain US visas through bribery. It caught attention at the highest levels of US law enforcement because global terrorist groups such as al Qaida have been trading in tanzanite to fund their activities.
By coincidence or by design, ’Keefe was a member of an international task force created four years ago to monitor tanzanite trade following reports that Osama bin Laden was relying on this gem trade to raise money for terrorism.
Agarwal’s businesses in India, located in Jaipur and Mumbai, are under the names of Vaibhav Gems Ltd and VGL Softech Ltd.
He has several businesses in Bangkok under the STS umbrella and outlets in Hong Kong, London, Tokyo, Taipei, Dubai, Toronto and in Centro Goval in Brazil.
In the US, his main base of operations has been Long Island in the shadow of Manhattan.According to the prosecution, Agarwal would send visa applications to the US consulate in Toronto on behalf of people, presumably to work for STS Jewels in New York and ’Keefe would fast track those applications and even resurrect rejected visa applications from the Indian-owned company.
In all, ’Keefe facilitated 21 visas at Agarwal’s instance, often ensuring that he personally conducted interviews with the applicants even outside normal office hours.
He overruled juniors who advised caution in dealing with applications on behalf of Agarwal for fear that the global gem trade was being misused by terrorists.
The 22-page indictment in the case, made public yesterday, contains several email exchanges between the diplomat and the Indian businessman, pointing to a dubious relationship between the two men.
One of these refers to a ring worth $3,000 gifted by Agarwal to ’Keefe. “I received the ring this afternoon and I am very grateful for your kindness,” ’Keefe wrote in his email.
Shortly afterwards, Agarwal arranged for ’Keefe and two exotic dancers, identified as “AM” and “MS”, to stay in a hotel in New York and accompanied them to dinner and a Broadway show, the indictment alleged.
In June this year, ’Keefe and two exotic dancers flew to Las Vegas on a trip for which Agarwal paid $ 5,400.
