Indian diplomat arrested in NYC

[Minskaya]

Indian diplomat held in US on visa fraud charges
December 13, 2013



In a major diplomatic embarrassment for India, its Deputy Consul General here was arrested and handcuffed in public on visa fraud charges before being released on a USD 250,000 bond after pleading not guilty in court, reports PTI.
Devyani Khobragade (39) was taken into custody on a street as she was dropping her daughter to school at 9 am yesterday after the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, India-born Preet Bharara, announced charges of visa fraud against her. Bharara alleged that Khobragade made false statements in a visa application for an Indian national employed as a baby-sitter and housekeeper at her home in New York. While Khobragade is Deputy Consul General at the Consulate here, she was serving as its acting head at the time of her arrest. She was charged with one count each of visa fraud and making false statements, which carry maximum prison sentences of 10 years and five years respectively.

The Indian Embassy in Washington said in a statement that it had “immediately conveyed its strong concern” to the US Government over the action against Khobragade. “The US side has been urged to resolve the matter with due sensitivity, taking into account the diplomatic status of the officer concerned,” the Embassy said. Khobragade, the mother of two young daughters and a Chevening scholar, was taken into custody by law enforcement officials and produced before US Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman of the Manhattan Federal Court late in the afternoon for an arraignment hearing. Wearing a purple sweater and dress, Khobragade looked pale and stressed during the hearing. The judge read Khobragade her rights and the charges against her. She did not speak during the hearing except to say that she agrees with the terms and conditions of her bail. She was released on a USD 250,000 bond and submitted her diplomatic passport in court. The next hearing was set for January 13.

Source

Russians attached to the UN were charged a few weeks ago for bilking Medicaid. Now this. What is going on in the Big Apple?

[Blademaster]

I think somebody in the NYPD missed the note about diplomatic immunity. The Indians are not amused.

[Blademaster]

This is nothing but a scam by the housekeep to obtain victims of domestic violence visa status as one of the conditionse applies, i.e., domestic abuse and claiming lower wage and deprivation as involuntary servitude would be enough to trigger an automatic arrest and granting of visa status.

[Firestorm]

The extent of Diplomatic immunity depends on the category of diplomat in the US. Wikipedia has a table for it:

Diplomatic immunity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If the woman in question is from one of the categories who are completely immune from prosecution, what the police and the US Attorney did would be illegal. If not, she can be prosecuted.

[Bigfella]

The extent of Diplomatic immunity depends on the category of diplomat in the US. Wikipedia has a table for it:

Diplomatic immunity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If the woman in question is from one of the categories who are completely immune from prosecution, what the police and the US Attorney did would be illegal. If not, she can be prosecuted.

Looks like she is in the 'Consular' category and is therefore able to be arrested & prosecuted for certain crimes. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

[Blademaster]

By the way, the current salary of the deputy consular general given to her by GoI will not even allow her to pay minimum wage salary for a domestic servant. Here it is:

President of India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Officially president of India is the highest paid and was paid $2500 per month in 2009. Even with inflation and other hikes it would not be double in 2013.
Paying minimum wage to the aide would come close to $1500 per month at 40 hrs a week.

If the US wanted her to pay minimum wage as required, she would be penniless!!

[Firestorm]

If the US wanted her to pay minimum wage as required, she would be penniless!!

Then she shouldn't have employed a housemaid in the first place.

[Bigfella]

By the way, the current salary of the deputy consular general given to her by GoI will not even allow her to pay minimum wage salary for a domestic servant. Here it is:

President of India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Officially president of India is the highest paid and was paid $2500 per month in 2009. Even with inflation and other hikes it would not be double in 2013.
Paying minimum wage to the aide would come close to $1500 per month at 40 hrs a week.

If the US wanted her to pay minimum wage as required, she would be penniless!!

So she didn't pay the housekeeper as much as she claimed she did? Does that mean the housekeeper is actually telling the truth & this isn't some sort of scam to get a visa?

[Tronic]

If the US wanted her to pay minimum wage as required, she would be penniless!!

That Poor thing!


Edit: ps. Got to hand it to Preet Bharara though, he's making quite a reputation for himself.

[Blademaster]

So she didn't pay the housekeeper as much as she claimed she did? Does that mean the housekeeper is actually telling the truth & this isn't some sort of scam to get a visa?

What happens if the consul general was paid less than minimum wage, would GoI be on trial?

That servant was considered an employee of GoI because diplomat offices are considered sensitive areas and you would need clearance to work there.

By the way, the court in India has issued an arrest for the housekeeper. Goes to show that there's more to the story than it meets the eye.

[Blademaster]

That Poor thing!


Edit: ps. Got to hand it to Preet Bharara though, he's making quite a reputation for himself.

Yeah and it doesn't go down as well as you might think in some circles.

I think that GoI might do a retaliatory move: arrest a US consular officer and hold him for bail around $1M or something.

[Blademaster]

Then she shouldn't have employed a housemaid in the first place.

Ok so you don't care that a US arrested an Indian diplomat? You are not gonna feel any kind of emotions as Indian sovereignty is violated?

[Firestorm]

Ok so you don't care that a US arrested an Indian diplomat? You are not gonna feel any kind of emotions as Indian sovereignty is violated?

Please refer to this post of mine: http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/ame...tml#post942496

I already said that if she belonged to the category which has blanket immunity, what they did to her was illegal. But I don't know which category she belongs to.

Secondly, whether or not the US violated India's sovereignty by arresting her is a separate matter from whether or not she actually broke the law. Both can be true at the same time.

[Tronic]

Just to clarify, 'That poor thing!' was sarcasm.

Not being able to afford a housekeeper is no reason to underpay them. Now, I'm not saying that's what she did, but that was the point raised.

Yeah and it doesn't go down as well as you might think in some circles.

At the end of the day, as long as he keeps bagging corrupt thieves I couldn't care less about those circles. ;)

I think that GoI might do a retaliatory move: arrest a US consular officer and hold him for bail around $1M or something.

I'd like to see the reason they come up with for such an arrest. (Not that I believe they will carry out such a 'retaliatory move'.)

[Bigfella]

What happens if the consul general was paid less than minimum wage, would GoI be on trial?

That servant was considered an employee of GoI because diplomat offices are considered sensitive areas and you would need clearance to work there.

By the way, the court in India has issued an arrest for the housekeeper. Goes to show that there's more to the story than it meets the eye.

None of which comes close to answering my question.

In your first post you as much as accused the housekeeper of lying to get a visa. In your second post you said that the Consul can't afford to pay the wage that she claimed she was paying - which would seem to support the allegation that she lied on the visa application (not your intention I'm sure). So now it appears that you have unintentionally exposed the Consul as a liar. I'm just trying to work out which of your positions is correct.