Surinamese with fake Guyanese passport to pay fine or face jail time

Feb 07, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – A Surinamese woman, Priya Sewraj, is expected to pay a fine of $40,000 or face 12 months of jail time for uttering a fake Guyanese Passport.

Charged Priya Sweraj

Sewraj was charged for making a false declaration for the purpose of procuring a new passport, which is contrary to Section 14 (3) (c) of the Guyana Citizenship Act Chapter 14:01. She appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts last Friday.
The court heard that Sewraj, in 2012 went to the Central Immigration and Passport Office where she made an application for a Guyana Passport and presented a Birth Certificate in the name of Bibshazia Khan. In the Passport Application Form, she signed the name as Khan knowing that it was not hers and was subsequently issued with a Guyana Passport under that name.
However, on 29th June 2021, Sewraj made an application for an American VISA using her Suriname Passport. During the Visa Application processing, the defendant’s fingerprints were scanned by the Electronic Visa System which returned a positive fingerprint match for one Bibshazia Khan. As a result an investigation was conducted and the defendant was arrested, told of the allegation and in a statement under caution, she admitted to signing on the Passport Application form as Bibshazia Khan knowing that was not her real name.

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