Virtually all recruiters e-mail scans of an FT's degrees/diplomas plus his/her resume and passport to potential employers because that is what is expected by schools/colleges/TC's. No surprise there.
Now I'm not puzzled any more re your question about what may be done with said electronic material thereafter. Thanks for your clarification. I was right in supposing you already knew the answer to the question you had posted. That said, thanks again for airing the smelly WC. Skeletons should not be locked away in cupboards.