Business at a popular city restaurant where alleged visa fraudster Edy Duran and his associates used to meet to discuss money transactions and prospective candidates for US visas has fallen considerably since the story broke, sources say.
Recently the local US Embassy confirmed that Duran, a former Consular Officer based here
was under investigation. The Texas USA resident is being accused of mingling with persons of questionable character and engaging in a ‘visa for sale’ racket.
The restaurant in question is complaining that the news has hurt its business. “Since the story, people business has been really bad… people don’t want to come because they think that they will be associated with the scam or something,” a source connected to the restaurant told this newspaper.
The source also distanced the restaurant from wrongdoing saying that they were in no way associated with Duran.
“The white man used to come in here, yes, we can’t say nay but he ain’t use to come to us or do business for us he came as any other patron… we never checked what he used to do because we let customers have their privacy,” the source said.
Questioned about who Duran’s friends at the establishment were the source said, “We don’t check out who is who. Like I keep telling you, customers business is their business… we can’t ask anyone to leave or if they get clearance from anywhere, we didn’t even know them embassy people had to get clearance because he is not the only one that comes here to eat or take a drink,” the source said.
On instructions from the US Department of State, the former teacher was sent back to the United States to facilitate the probe, just two months short of completing a three-year stint here.
When contacted for comment, the US Embassy here had said, “The Department of State is aware of allegations of improprieties relating to a Consular Officer formerly assigned to Georgetown, Guyana.” “The Department takes all allegations of misconduct by employees seriously. We are reviewing the matter thoroughly.
“If the allegations are substantiated, we will work with the relevant authorities to hold anyone involved accountable. ”
Local police have repeatedly said that they have not been contacted in relation to this probe. This newspaper has since learnt that the US had good reason for doing so, since they fear confidentiality breaches as had occurred several years ago in a similar case.
Duran who arrived here in 2011, allegedly sold visas to locals for sums ranging from US$15,000 ($3M) to US$40,000 ($8M), and it is believed that he had help from other staff at the embassy. In addition there have been reports that Duran traded sex for visas with young women. It is still unclear what the nationality of the women whom he allegedly bedded was.
He apparently fed off his friendships with locals of questionable character and frequented many places without clearance from the embassy.
It is through these friendships that the links to persons who needed visas were made. He would also make frequent trips to Corentyne, Berbice.
Among his friends and associates are a popular restaurant owner, a jeweller, a store owner and a stationery dealer.
Some of the persons have known ties to the drug underworld.
There has been no new information on the investigations.
