A recent report of the Canada Border Services Agency – seen by Canadian news agency QMI – has revealed that the bureau is worried about “significant criminal activity” among Hungarian Roma refugees to the country, whose claims of fleeing from persecution in their home country have often been doubted in the past.
“The information provided to the criminal investigations division indicates that individuals believed to be from the Roma community, and involved in criminal activity, most commonly engage in skimming fraud and cheque fraud,” the report said. “While this activity has been reported for a number of years, it is worth noting that the recent incidents involve business cheques being stolen from the mail and deposited into the bank accounts of refugee claimants who have recently been returned to Hungary”.
While the report stresses that its findings are not a “depiction of all” Canadian Roma, it notes that a warning by Toronto police has been issued about an “indication that local gangs may be developing” as a result of refugees arriving en masse.
