RCMP Arrests Federal Immigration Official

The RCMP has charged five people, among them an Immigration Canada official, with corruption and fraud after several raids in Ottawa.

The RCMP are alleging the group received up to $25,000 in fees from at least a dozen Arab immigrants seeking permanent resident status.

The arrests are the culmination of an investigation that began in January. There will likely be more arrests, the RCMP said. The suspects were allegedly approaching immigrants and promising that their applications would be fast-tracked for fees ranging from $4,000 to $25,000.

One of the five suspects is the 34-year-old operations manager at the Ottawa branch of Citizenship and Immigration. The office was shut down until further notice. Police say there is no indication that the group has any links to terrorist activity.

It is not yet clear whether immigrants who paid fees to the group will lose their status as permanent residents.