The Immigration Taskforce from the Ministry of Immigration and Border Services has been carrying out active investigations and acted upon the company known as Ananda Ltd Trading, also known as KB Home Center to most– has been convicted of three counts of employing prohibited persons.
Acting on intelligence in June 2021, the Taskforce officers visited KB Home Center locations off Leeward Highway and in Five Cays and found the three persons, all Haitian nationals, working without permission. The persons were detained and have since been removed from the Turks and Caicos Islands, repatriated back to Haiti.
Following the Immigration Department’s investigation, Ananda Ltd Trading was charged and pleaded guilty to three counts of employing a prohibited person. The company was sentenced at court to a fine of $2,000 – or 30 days imprisonment – on each count.
The Head of Immigration Taskforce, Tito Forbes, said, “This was an operation informed by our immigration intelligence unit and which led to a detailed investigation by my officers, resulting in the conviction of a business here in Providenciales for employing illegal workers. Businesses that employ illegal workers are a huge part of our challenge. Migrants risk their lives trying to get to TCI because they think they can find work and live here illegally”.
The Minister of Immigration and Border Services, Hon. Arlington Musgrove, said, “Employing illegal workers is a criminal offense, and not one that is without a victim, and rogue employers have an unfair advantage over legitimate businesses who do play by the rules. The TCI is working hard to combat illegal migration, and businesses offering employment to illegal migrants are only harming the efforts of our country in tackling this issue.
