That alarmed many governments in this region that have made millions of dollars selling visas or passports to Chinese from Hong Kong and the mainland.

Wade renewed an allegation, previously made in 2002, that Niasse had sold diplomatic passports to Taiwanese businessmen and others from that country.

Also, Newsweek tells the weird story of Jerry Stuchiner, a high-level Immigration & Naturalization Service agent alleged to have sold passports to illegal Chinese immigrants.

In the 14 months he spent on the Caribbean island, people who knew him said, he sold others false birth certificates and passports to enter the United States and Canada.

At the same time, other Latin American countries are developing programs to promote the immigration of Asian entrepreneurs, though none besides Peru are selling passports.

Mr. Hamdani, a 44-year-old native of Pakistan, is charged with selling blank passports and other fake immigration documents to an undercover agent in Queens seven years ago.

Paraguayan police officers are regularly caught selling visas and passports.

The official was arrested a year ago for trying to sell blank passports to help people illegally enter the United States.

There was another fundraising effort to raise NZ$6000 for a new swimming pool for the island's school, by selling 50-cent passports for the newly "independent" island.

Nauru's embassies in Beijing and Washington were closed in August 2003, with the Nauruan government having been sent documents claiming that they were selling diplomatic passports.