Stolen Passports in Malaysia: A Lucrative Business

The mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 has catapulted Malaysia, for many a lush tourist attraction, into headlines around the world. Days after the search began, the missing airliner is still nowhere to be found. What has been discovered, however, is an Iranian connection: two Iranian nationals had boarded the flight using stolen passports.

Currently, as might be expected, conspiracy theories continue to flourish, ranging from rumors of an exorcist being present at the airport at the time of its departure to a Malaysian military cover-up. Rumors and conjectures have found a fertile ground online, spreading rapidly. Within Malaysia, speculation about the plane’s disappearance has coincided with the news that, on the same day the plane vanished, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was given a five-year prison sentence for sodomy.

To the relief of the Iranian community in Malaysia, after the passengers traveling on falsified passports were identified as being Iranian and Malaysian police announced that they were not terrorists, speculation that an Iranian terrorist act was to blame for the plane’s disappearance died down. But why?

Fake Identities: An Escape

“The largest number of those who buy stolen passports are Iranians,” says Mehdi Zavarei, who runs the Society for Iranian Asylum Seekers in Malaysia. “You can buy a passport for $2,000. Passports from Cyprus and Italy are the cheapest, and those from Australia and Netherlands are the most expensive. They buy these passports to get to Europe or Australia and seek asylum.” The two Iranians traveling with stolen passports were on their way to Europe.

Last year, there was ample discussion among Iranians in Malaysia about the fact that more than ten Iranian women had used Dutch passports to travel to Scandinavia. Some of them were thought to have paid around $7,000 per passport, and were given reassurances that a Dutch passport afforded them a sure-fire way to get to Europe.

In Malaysia, it is possible to find someone who sells stolen passports by going to Iranian restaurants or through contact with experienced tour leaders. Lost passports are among common complaints voiced by tourists to the country, and although it is advised to report such loss to the police, it is rare for the passport to be returned to its rightful owner. Tour leaders repeatedly warn tourists to look after their passports when traveling there.

But illegal immigration is not the only reason why Malaysian police are unable to recover the many passports passed around by thieves and human traffickers.

After living in Malaysia for only a few months, a resident is bound to discover that buying exit and entry stamps is one of the best options for “renewing” a visa. Of course, when the Malaysian visa for Iranians was valid for three months, the market for exit and entry stamps thrived. Now, however, visas for Iranians are valid for only 14 days. Nevertheless, this is still a viable option for human traffickers doing business. In most countries, as a foreign national resident, one must acquire an entry stamp before acquiring an exit one. But, says Zavarei, “in Malaysia, you can buy these stamps and ‘resurrect’ a passport.”

In September, when boats carrying asylum seekers to Australia sank off the Indonesian coast, immigration and border authorities stepped up their vigilance. Since then, Malaysia has increasingly been used as a route to Europe and elsewhere. But what does it actually lead to?

Stuck In Refugee Camps

Roya is an Iranian woman who took the risk of using a stolen passport to travel from Malaysia to Europe. After a year, she is still stranded in a refugee camp in Europe. “First, you think that if you get there, it is the end of the story,” she says, “but nothing ends. On the contrary, the hardships just begin, especially now that no country gives priority to Iranian refugees because they tell us that the situation in Iran has changed.”

“It was a difficult journey,” she says. “I was nervous and worried throughout. The Malaysian police did not notice anything, but my hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking. When I passed the gate, it was arriving at the destination that started to make me anxious. How would the police treat me? From Kuala Lumpur we flew to Singapore, changed planes and flew directly to Amsterdam. Before landing, of course, we tore up the passports and disposed of them in the plane’s toilet. Once we were out, we identified ourselves to the airport police.”

Roya and her friend now live in a refugee camp in a small town in the Netherlands. Their first request for asylum was rejected, but they have appealed the decision.

Rouzbeh, another Iranian who planned to leave Malaysia by purchasing a stolen passport, believes that the databases at Malaysian airports have been updated. “It is terrible when I think about it,” he says. “Had I been able to get together the money, I would have been out of here by now.” He said those in the business of getting people out of Malaysia and into Europe gave him two options: a fake visa or a passport. “I chose the passport because I was told that it was not fake and nobody had been caught. It was more expensive but it was worth it.” 

Why did he take the risk of traveling with illegal documents? “I have been in Malaysia for four years,” he answers. “I did everything to leave Malaysia for another country. This was, after all, why I came here. Once I tried for Australia, but the Indonesian police arrested us. I was lucky that I was not deported directly back to Iran, because then I would have had difficulty returning.”

“Nothing Has Changed”

Rouzbeh does not want to return to Iran, although he has travelled back to Iran a few times over the past four years. The last time was after the June presidential election. The results did not change his decision. “Every time I go to Iran, I want to stay but then I see that nothing has changed,” he explains. “The hope that they talk about is a false hope. To leave Malaysia you must have a lot of money, but if you have a lot of money, Iran is a good place, too. I can tell you about a number of people who have been accepted by European universities and have excellent educational qualifications, but have not been able to secure visas. My friend, the doors to most embassies is closed to us. And when the doors are closed, you have to climb the wall. Is there any other way, especially when your back is to the wall and you have nowhere to go?”

Of course, the story of Iranians who want to get to Europe, the United States or Australia does not end here. Many human traffickers ask for a large amount of money in exchange for an easy way to get to the promised land. They build false “cases” which, they claim, will persuade authorities to grant them asylum. These plans often lead nowhere. In a high number of cases, traffickers take the money and leave people to their own devices. There are even websites that advertise asylum-seeking services, including the creation of false cases.

Parvaneh is an Iranian woman who was abandoned in Scandinavia. Her request for asylum has been rejected twice and she has to leave the country before summer this year. “No country gives Iranian asylum seekers priority anymore,” she says. “Trumped-up cases do not work because the agents who interviews you are very thorough. Eventually they get you and when they find out that your case is fake, you are finished. The second time I told the truth: I don’t want to go back to Iran because I am a divorced woman and I do not have the social and financial means to live in Iran. Bad economic conditions or social pressures, however, are not enough for them to give you asylum. They say that millions of Iranians are under the same pressures and, to get asylum, you must be threatened personally. Fabricated case will get you nowhere. You can bet on it.”

Perhaps some have reached their final destiny by reaching their final destination, while others have failed. However, for Mohammad Reza and Pouria Javan, the two Iranians on flight 370, the desired destination seems to be out of reach forever.