By Gerrino J. Saunders
Journal Staff Writer
Two weeks ago Acting Chief Passport Officer Nicholas Symonette acknowledged that a rise in
the detection of fraudulent Bahamian passports could become an issue of national security. He
said the government specifically the passport office has taken steps to eliminate fraudulent
Bahamian passports; this after a man was arrested in St. Vincent and the Grenadines a week
earlier after attempting to travel with a fake Bahamian passport.
This week six people, including a Bahamian man, were arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court
before Senior Magistrate Kendra Kelly on multiple fraud charges related to fake passports.
Following the arraignment, on Tuesday evening Free National Movement (FNM) Senator and
former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Minnis Administration Darren Henfield in an audio
statement posted on the FNM Facebook page expressed his concerns with the recent events.
He said, “reports of foreigners being able to use fraudulent document to procure Bahamian
passports are to say the least disturbing. “By all accounts thus far it appears that the accused
persons, two of whom are reportedly valid work permit holders and the other a foreign teen, were
able to obtain Bahamian passports using forged certificates of registration and forged letters from
the Immigration Department that were accepted by the passport office.”
Henfield said as the matter is before the courts the Opposition would reserve commentary that
might be harmful to the case, however, it is their hope that an audit is underway at the passport
office and elsewhere to determine whether others may have slipped through the cracks and
achieved the same outcome.
Bahamian Ricardo Pyfrom, 53 and, Haitian national Silian Dorelin, 43 were both charged with
conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences. Cuban Larny Estefania Tavarez Nova, 32, two
Dominicans Teofilo Antonio Tavarez, 56, Ruslen Berroa Espinosa, 38, and a 17-year-old
Haitian male faced a single charge of possessing a false document.
Prosecutors allege that between April 25 and May 10, 2024, Tavarez, Espinosa, and Nova used
fake registration certificates and fraudulent immigration letters to obtain Bahamian passports
from the Passport Office.
The teenager is accused of using a fake Bahamian passport to obtain a new one on June 13,
- Additionally, he and Pyfrom and Dorelin allegedly conspired to defraud the Passport
Office between May 30 and June 13, 2024.
All defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution noted that Tavarez and Nova
both held valid work permits. Senior Magistrate Kelly granted bail for Tavarez, Nova, and
Espinosa at $6,000 each, with one or two sureties.
Pyfrom and Dorelin were granted bail at $4,000 each, also requiring one or two sureties, and
must sign in at their local police stations on the first Monday of each month.
The 17 year old was remanded into custody until his bail hearing which was set for
Wednesday February 12 th .
Tavarez’s trial is set for May 2th, while Espinosa and Nova are scheduled to appear in court on
May 23 rd . The trial for the juvenile, Pyfrom, and Dorelin is set for May 19 th .
Senator Henfield offered recommendations on how the passport office can prevent such things
happening.
He said, “the passport office if it has not yet done so must reinforce protocols, to mitigate the
procurement of this most sacred Bahamian document through fraud, and integrate an e-system
that screens passport applications against the back drop of the Registrar General’s Office, the
Department of Immigration, the National Insurance Board (NIB) and the Ministry of Education
and others would go a long way in reducing the possibility of such fraud. We encourage the
government to prioritize digitizing and integrating these and other systems to assist in verifying
information purported to be authentic.”
The current Minister of Foreign Affairs and Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell in
responding to Henfield accused the Opposition of being behind the eight ball once again.
He said safety and security protocols implemented under the Davis Administration are already in
place and working which is why those arrested and charged this week were caught and taken
before the courts rather than slipping through the cracks..
Minister Mitchell expressed his confidence in the work that the passport office is doing,
collaborating with regional and international partners to protect the authenticity of Bahamian
documents through continued upgrades in technology.
Meanwhile, Symonette who is also an Ambassador at Large in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
shared that a recent joint audit was conducted by the department of immigration, the passport
office and NIB and emphasized that this was instrumental in understanding what work needs to
be done in all industries.
He said the passport office has an ongoing verification process year-round and he explained that
for any document to be processed the person submitting must provide valid proof.
He said “the audit process is a part of our checks and balances we do it on a routine basis based
on any information that comes forward whether it be a document that looks fraudulent and that’s
how we prove fraudulent documents or identities. That’s not something that is unusual to us.”
Also in January this year the passport department issued a statement noting that it “routinely
sends documents/applications to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for further review and
investigation when there is suspicion of fraud.”
The statement said, “the multi-agency audit conducted by the Department of Immigration, the
NIB, and the Passport Department is a testimony to the dedication of our officers in safeguarding
our nation. The audit is continuous, and any acts of wrongdoing will be turned over to the
appropriate agency.”
