A French civil servant has been arrested on charges of fraud, suspected of accepting bribes in exchange for forging immigration documents for illegal migrants.

A public official working for the foreigners’ reception service in the French city of Nancy is facing charges of corruption and fraud, according to the prosecutor’s office.

It is alleged that the official facilitated the continued stay of illegal migrants in the country in exchange for cash payments.

As reported by France Bleu, the investigation began in September 2024 when authorities discovered a suspiciously altered document. The administration then alerted the office for combating illegal migrant smuggling (OLTIM), which ultimately identified about a dozen falsifications.

„In September 2024, during a procedure aimed at regularizing the administrative status of a foreign national, the suspicion of falsified documents was flagged to OLTIM’s Nancy branch. Verification of the case files confirmed the existence of forgeries,” stated Francois Capin-Dulhoste, the Nancy prosecutor, in an official press release.

Further investigations traced forged documents in from 15 legalization files back to the same civil servant, all allegedly processed in exchange for payment of €25,000 each.

On Tuesday, the official, along with accomplices and several beneficiaries of the forged documents, were taken into police custody.

Authorities have now launched a judicial inquiry to uncover the network and identify all individuals involved.