- Bribe Fighter
- 14 years ago
- 1958 views
Detectives requested money for backgoround check
I applied for a long-term visa for an European country many years ago. The embassy conducts an additional verification through a private detective agency. The detectives (who happened to be north Indians) were not supposed to contact me. Instead, they arrived at my home and claimed that there were some problems with the data I gave to the embassy. They called up someone through the phone in front of me, and started to speak in Hindi. The fools did not realize that most Keralites know Hindi. I understood exactly what they were speaking. In a nutshell, he asked the person on the other end of the line to pretend to be his boss, and to give them money in order to rectify the "error" in my data. The detectives then asked me to come to their hotel room the next day. After they left, I called up the embassy to inform them about the whole issue. To my shock, the embassy person appeared to be very indifferent, and asked me to read the rules! Anyway, I had a friend in the police crime branch, and I requested him to accompany me the next day. He came along with me in mufti. Fortunately, the guys sensed that I was not a person that gave in easily, and left the hotel room soon after I told them that I will not give them any bribe. I received my visa without trouble thereafter. My phone call to the embassy had an impact; background checks are no longer conducted through private detective agencies by this embassy.