The Irish Adoption Board has asked the Garda to investigate allegations that a woman nominated by the Irish authorities as a facilitator for couples adopting babies in Vietnam has a criminal record.
The woman, My Linh Soland, an American citizen of Vietnamese extraction, was interviewed two years ago by the Irish Adoption Board for the role of facilitator with adoptions of Vietnamese babies by Irish couples.
The board confirmed yesterday it had requested the Irish adoption mediation agency, Helping Hands, which currently deals with all Irish/Vietnamese adoptions, to ask Ms Soland to "desist from any further involvement in the adoption process until our investigation is complete". However, the board has not ordered the suspension of adoption of Vietnamese babies while the investigation is proceeding.
Court records in Virginia, in the US, show Ms Soland pleaded guilty in 1995 to two counts of conspiracy to defraud and obstruction of justice/witness intimidation. She was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by a further three years of supervised release.
Kiernan Gildea, registrar of the Irish Adoption Board, told The Irish Times yesterday the board received anonymous information concerning Ms Soland's criminal record last Friday. "We've been in touch with the Garda and have asked them to investigate and check it out with Interpol."
Mr Gildea said she was found to be acceptable by the board and by the Vietnamese authorities. "We asked the Garda to do a check on her and we got Garda clearance at that time."
Ms Soland was in Ireland two weeks ago when she attended the official launch by Minister for Children Brian Lenihan of the Helping Hands agency. The agency was established as part of a process to strengthen adoption procedures. Based in Cork, it is the first of its kind in this country and so far deals only with Vietnam.
Helping Hands is licensed and regulated by the Irish Adoption Board and receives Government funding. It recently appointed Ms Soland as a consultant and facilitator based in Vietnam.
According to the agency, approximately 150 Vietnamese babies have been adopted by Irish couples since 2004, when the bilateral agreement on adoption between Ireland and Vietnam was finalised.
Sharon O'Driscoll, chief executive officer of Helping Hands, said she had informed the Vietnamese authorities of the allegations against Ms Soland.
"We posted a letter to them on Monday last and we haven't heard anything back yet," she said.
Ms O'Driscoll said she has not yet managed to speak with Ms Soland since becoming aware of the allegations last Friday.
But she stressed adoptions from Vietnam were continuing: "We have been able to work through other people."
Mr Lenihan confirmed yesterday he was aware of the allegations and that they are "being urgently investigated".
Virginia District Court records from 1995 show Ms Soland, a US-based lawyer, pleaded guilty to arranging marriages to enable people to apply fraudulently for US citizenship.
She charged foreign nationals $5,000 (€3,964) for her services, which included sourcing a US partner, processing the necessary paperwork, and coaching the "couple" to lie convincingly to immigration officials.
To adopt a baby in Vietnam, each Irish couple must pay a fee of $9,700 (€7,690). According to the Helping Hands website, this must be paid in two instalments. The first is by bank draft "made out to My Linh Soland", and the balance is to be paid to her in cash, "usually in $50 and $100 notes to avoid high currency conversion costs".
The fees comprise various charges associated with processing the arrangement through the Vietnamese system.
Ms Soland's direct personal fee for each adoption is $1,500 (€1,190). She could not be contacted for comment yesterday.