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The man who alleged that corrupt immigration officials had fast-tracked applications has dismissed a report clearing them, and says he knows parties who saw "money change hands".
Former Immigration Minister Tuariki Delamere said he had no faith in a Government investigation, released yesterday, which found no evidence that immigration officials had possibly taken bribes to process business visa applications in 2002.
Mr Delamere said he knew parties who had seen immigration agents accepting large sums of cash, and he would be willing reveal details to a parliamentary select committee.
He first made the allegations in 2005 just after he was acquitted of several fraud charges relating to his work as an immigration consultant.
The cases in question were in 2002, when there was a massive backlog of between 3000 and 4000 cases. Eighty-nine cases that year were processed within a week at the Immigration Service's business migration branch.
The Department of Labour's investigation - by Peter Chemis of law firm Buddle Findlay - found no evidence of undue influence.
Of the 89 cases, 39 were either declined or of a nature that would have been processed within two days.
The remaining 50 applications - 30 for long-term business visas and 20 for investors - were likely to have been selected for processing because they looked in order and had the correct paperwork attached.
At the time the applications would have taken three months on average to process, but the report said "the time it took to process an application would depend on a variety of factors".
One immigration officer processed half of the 50 applications. The report described him as "honest and trustworthy".
"Other than the statistics, which in themselves do not appear remarkable, I have very little to rely upon to even begin to develop the view that this case officer, or indeed any other case officer, was involved in something untoward or dishonest," Mr Chemis said in his report.
Mr Delamere said the investigation was a whitewash.
"Anyone who might have been involved in anything improper would just deny it. Immigration officers aren't going to risk their jobs by saying anything adverse."
He questioned whether the investigation had appropriate powers to properly test the claims and search under every rock.
"I could have directed [the investigation] to people who say they saw money change hands ... Did money change hands? I have no idea. But the whole process smells, big time.
"Back then, rich Chinese and Koreans would pay $50,000 to $100,000 if someone could guarantee immediate approval. These applications were approved in less than a week, some on the day they arrived."
Of those 50 cases, 38 were from China or South Korea.
An immigration lawyer, who did not want to be named, backed up Mr Delamere's claims that thousands of dollars in cash had changed hands in dubious circumstances.
"I can confirm somebody on a number of occasions was asked to pay 'additional fast-processing' fees. I am well aware that money changed hands.
"It may have been more for the Chinese applicants, but the Koreans not so much. Maybe $10,000, and it was all cash."
The review found that there was an incentive to process applications out of order, due to demands of clearing the backlog and meeting targets.
It was not unusual at the time to give priority to applications that were easier to deal with, including ones from an agent who had a proven track-record, or ones with accompanying papers that looked in order.
The report said this practice was not surprising given the pressure officials were under, but it was "clearly not best practice".
Standards had since been addressed at the end of 2002.
Mr Delamere was last year acquitted of 14 charges of fraud and forgery. He said his uncovering of the cases has sparked an Immigration Service vendetta which led to his prosecution by the Serious Fraud Office.
