FORMER DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN TAIWAN SUES OVER VISA FEE MISAPPROPRIATION

A former director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in which he accuses employees there of selling US visas and keeping the fees.  James C. Wood, who was the AIT director from 1996 to 1997, says that more than $5 million in visa fees are missing, and uses an audit from a private accounting firm to support his claim.  The audit showed that visa fees were not kept separate, as required by the State Department, but were mixed with other income.  According to the audit, there were $9.3 million in visa fees collected between 1992 and 1995, for which $5.3 million cannot be accounted.

The suit, which was filed in October, alleges that AIT officers sold visas to ineligible recipients, at a cost of up to $25,000.  The proper visa fee is $10.  It also alleges that some officers demanded sex from female applicants, and threatened to deny issuing visas to qualified applicants unless they agreed.  The suit seeks the repayment of the missing funds and damages for what Wood says are “false statements” that were made in an effort to force him to resign.

Wood ordered the audit shortly after becoming the director.  He says that this is when the problems first began.  AIT employees refused to turn over financial records to the auditors, telling them that they had been “eaten by termites.”

The AIT is not an official US Consulate.  The US and Chinese governments have an agreement that the US will not officially recognize Taiwan.  AIT is a private, non-profit agency that has a contract with the State Department to process visa applications, as well as conduct trade and commercial functions that a consulate would perform.  Despite its non-official status, the State and Justice Departments have filed motions to dismiss the case.  They argue that AIT is essentially a government agency and enjoys immunity from lawsuits.  Wood has countered this effort by pointing out that if the agency enjoys immunity, then it is essentially a US government entity, and is therefore in violation of the agreement that the US will not recognize Taiwan.

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