Uncover the Laundryman's Secrets

Monday, December 2, 2024

SAINT LUCIA DPM ERNEST HILAIRE REFUSES TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION ON CHINESE MONEY LAUNDERER WHO EMPLOYED SLC CBI PASSPORT AND WAS CONVICTED IN SINGAPORE

Media reports from the Caribbean have noted that a Chinese national who holds a CIP passport issued by Saint Lucia, and who was convicted of money laundering in Singapore's recent massive money laundering scandal, has had his citizenship and passport revoked. JUNJIE SU a/k/a HAIJIN SU, was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment in Singapore. While we were aware that some of the laundrymen in the case had used Saint Kitts & Nevis CBI passports, this is the first time we have learned that any of the defendants in the Singapore case employed St. Lucia passports as identification documents in the three billion dollar case.

Requests by local St. Lucia media for the Government to identify the specific investments that Su was involved in were denied by Deputy Prime Minister ERNEST HILAIRE, who is also the Minister for Investment. In his public statement, Hilaire said:

"We do not believe that private, confidential COMMERCIAL INFORMATION should be released to the public, and certainly not without the permission of the investor."

Minister Ernest Hilaire

Clearly, whatever privacy rights Su might have had were extinguished when he was convicted of money laundering, giving Saint Lucia authorities the right to revoke his citizenship. Also, there is absolutely no "commercial privilege" against disclosure, in a transaction with a government agency. Hilaire has often sought to conceal the truth by claiming that any entity selling CIP has some privacy rights, which is without any basis in the law. The so-called commercial privilege was invented by Hilaire to hide rampant corruption in the CIP program, which he supervises and oversees.There have been a number of calls to the country's Prime Minister, PHILIP PIERRE, for his immediate resignation.

THIS IS WHY COMPLIANCE OFFICERS MUST BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT ALL ESOTERIC MONEY LAUNDERING TECHNIQUES

 


titc.io/kenneth-rijock-the-money-launderer

Sunday, December 1, 2024

HERE'S A LIST OF THE ADVANCED, OBSCURE AND ESOTERIC TECHNIQUES ANALYZED IN MY THREE-PART SEMINAR ON MONEY LAUNDERING TRADECRAFT COMING IN JANUARY


Uncover the Laundryman's Secrets

For those readers who were curious about the content of my upcoming seminar on ADVANCED MONEY LAUNDERING TRADECRAFT, coming in January, here is the complete list of topics that I will be detailing, analyzing and explaining, all from the viewpoint of the practising money launderer, in  three separate sessions:

1. MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT DIVERSION.

2. MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH LIFE SETTLEMENTS.

3. ADVANCED TRADE-BASED MONEY LAUNDERING.

4. THE LAUNDRYMAN'S VERSION OF HAWALA.

5.  MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH FINE ARTS AND ANTIQUES.

6. MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH CASH-INTENSIVE BUSINESSES.

7. MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY.

8. INVESTING OFFSHORE ILLICIT WEALTH ONSHORE.

9. MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS.

10. MONEY LAUNDERING AND SANCTIONS EVASION THROUGH THE USE OF CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT (CBI) PASSPORTS.

11. MONEY LAUNDERING USING SHELL AND SHELF COMPANIES.

12. MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH CORRESPONDENT BANKING.

13. HOW MONEY LAUNDERERS EMPLOY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO OUTWIT COMPLIANCE OFFICERS.

14.MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH LOTTERIES AND OTHER CASH PRIZE EVENTS.

15. MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH THE HOARDING AND SALE OF PRECIOUS METALS AND VALUABLE STAMPS AND COINS.

16. MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH THE USE OF DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS BY NON-DIPLOMATS.

17.WHAT GOES UP AND DOESN'T NECESSARILY COME DOWN IN MONEY LAUNDERING OPERATIONS.

18. THE USE OF PSYOPS IN MONEY LAUNDERING TO CONFUSE COMPLIANCE OFFICERS INVOLVED IN TRANSACTION MONITORING.

19. HOW MONEY LAUNDERERS DEAL WITH IDENTITY VERIFICATION ISSUES.

20. WHEN MONEY LAUNDERERS GIVE YOU UNINTENTIONAL EASTER EGGS FOR YOUR ENHANCED DUE DILIGENCE INVESTIGATION.


If you are a frontline compliance officer involved in Client Onboarding or Transaction Monitoring, you will want to attend this virtual three-part event, UNCOVER THE LAUNDRYMAN'S SECRETS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION and to subscribe: 

titc.io/kenneth-rijock-the-laundry-man




Saturday, November 30, 2024

SAINT LUCIA'S PRIME MINISTER UNDER MOUNTING PUBLIC PRESSURE TO REFORM CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT (CIP) PROGRAM AND SACK DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ERNEST HILAIRE FOR CORRUPTION


After ERNEST HILAIRE, the minister in charge of oversight of Saint Lucia's Citizenship by Investment (CIP) passport sales program, flat out refused to disclose the details of missing revenue from sales of passports, amount to a billion US Dollars or more, the United Workers Party (UWP) has demanded, in an open letter to SLC PM PHILIP PIERRE, that he completely reform the program, and relieve the Minister for Investments, Deputy Prime Minister ERNEST HILAIRE for misconduct, forthwith.

The letter's primary complaint is spelled out early on:

"Dear Prime Minister Pierre... The situation with the CIP is particularly egregious. Newly leaked contracts reveal that over 5,000 Saint Lucian passports, valued at US$1 billion, have been allocated under the Galaxy arrangement. Alarmingly, US$600 million of this amount remains unaccounted for, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability. Additionally, Bemax—a company contracted to construct 66 low-income houses for US$62 million—has been linked to criminal activity, with its principal recently arrested as part of a major organized crime investigation."

The UWP has demanded, in the letter, that the PM, who has been accused of failing to exercise any leadership in the matter, take the following steps immediately:

"1. Dismissal of the CEO of the CIP Programme for failing to uphold the integrity of the programme.

2. Replacement of the CIP Board to restore public confidence.

3. Removal of the Minister responsible for the CIP portfolio to ensure impartial oversight moving forward.

4. An independent investigation, spearheaded by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Auditor General, to uncover the full extent of the mismanagement.

5. Suspension of any further issuance of citizenships related to Galaxy and infrastructure investment until the investigation is completed."

DPM Hilaire, who claimed that to disclose details of the Galaxy transactions would require company approval, as it is privileged information, and then failed to secure that permission, is alleged to have collected millions of dollars, in bribes and kickbacks, from the company, and that is why he is stonewalling his constituents about the missing billion; public calls for his resignation are known to be increasing, amid multiple allegations of fraud, money laundering and corruption.Whether Prime Minister Pierre takes prompt action will most certainly have an effect on the  Saint Lucia Labour Party's chances of remaining in power. 




FORMER BVI PREMIER ANDREW FAHIE OFFERED TO OBTAIN WEAPONS IN COCAINE AND MONEY LAUNDERING CASE


Buried in the prosecution's evidence in the Federal criminal case  against disgraced former British Virgin Islands Premie ANDREW FAHIE, presently serving an eleven year sentence in an American prison after his conviction for cocaine trafficking and money laundering, was some additional information that debunked Fahie's claims that he was an innocent bystander; and showed that he was not entrapped by a US law enforcement agency, in an undercover operation. Although not covered in the articles published in America media, Fahie did indeed offer to supply the Cooperating Individual in his case with weapons, according to BVI media reporting details of the case.

 Additionally, it was reported that Fahie was previously under investigation for  money laundering a decade ago, for having bribe proceeds from corruption involving a construction project smuggled into the United States by associates. Remember, Fahie admitted that the case was not "his first rodeo."






WATCH SAINT KITTS & NEVIS POLITICAL COMMENTARY ANALYZE THE COUNTRY'S PRIME MINISTER, TERRANCE DREW'S PRESS CONFERENCE, AND DETAIL HIS DECEPTION ABOUT THE CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT SCANDAL

 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFuC89lt_K8&t=4s

Thursday, November 28, 2024

CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT OF THE ROYAL BAHAMAS POLICE FORCE, AND OTHER POLICE AND GOVERNMENT, CHARGED IN U.S. WITH SUPPORTING A MASSIVE COCAINE SMUGGLING OPERATION

 



The United States Attorney in New York (SDNY) has charged thirteen defendants, including ELVIS NATHANIEL CURTIS, the Chief Superintendent of the ROYAL BAHAMAS POLICE FORCE, and other Bahamian police officers and government officials, with operating a massive cocaine smuggling operation, that flooded the United States with tons of the drug over a several year period. The cocaine charges, including the possession of firearms in the commission of a narcotics importation conspiracy, which carry a 10-year minimum mandatory sentence, and a maximum Life Sentence upon conviction, included the allegation that the drugs were to be safely stored in the Bahamas and protected, in a manner similar to that of the recent case where former BVI Premier ANDREW FAHIE was convicted in SDFL. Fahie also also conspired with others in an agreement to store drugs in the British Virgin Islands, and give them safe passage through BVI maritime waters.



We note that the case, which involved cocaine of Colombian origin, is being prosecuted by the DOJ National Security Unit, indicating that the illegal operation is considered to be a national security threat to the United States. Some of the defendants have already been arrested in Florida.









ssssssssssssssddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

RAISE COUNTRY RISK ON SAINT LUCIA DUE TO SERIOUSLY ELEVATED MONEY LAUNDERING CONCERNS CAUSED BY THE CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT (CIP) SCANDAL


The risk that any significant transfer of funds originating from SAINT LUCIA are the proceeds of crime remain elevated to the extent that we must recommend that Country Risk for that East Caribbean state be elevated to High Risk status. The efforts of both local, as well as American, media, to get to the truth about the full extent of the sale of citizenships at illegally-discounted rates, the location of more than a billion (US) dollars converted and diverted by Chinese actors, and a total lack of cooperation, from both government, as well as the country's principal private financial institution, the BANK OF SAINT LUCIA, requires that compliance officers exercise extreme caution in any financial transaction where Saint Lucia is remitting funds to US banks.

We remind our readers that the country's Deputy Prime Minister, ERNEST HILAIRE, has stonewalled and ignored all public inquiries, regarding the CIP program, and we note that he, as the Minister for Investment, has a fiduciary duty to be totally transparent, making full disclosure, in response to both media and public queries regarding CIP; inasmuch as he has not, we are unable to assume that any CIP funds have been vetted for Source of Funds, and represent a clear and present danger to any US financial institution that accepts them. Compliance officers charged with calculating and assessing Country Risk should govern themselves accordingly.

AMERICAN BANKS HAVE NO CHOICE; THEY MUST NOW RAISE RISK LEVELS ON HONG KONG, OR RISK FACILITATING IRAN & RUSSIA SANCTIONS VIOLATIONS, MONEY LAUNDERING, AND OTHER RELATED FINANCIAL CRIMES THAT HONG KONG IS CLOSING ITS EYES TO IT FOR PROFIT



If you saw the recent statements made by prominent Members of the US Congress, pointing out how banks in Hong Kong are assisting Russia in evading international sanctions, and facilitating payment for illicit Iranian oil shipments, and Hong Kong's quick but terse denials, you know that it's time for American banks to raise risk levels on the former British territory. We completely agree, and also remind readers that both of the Chinese CBI companies that illegally diverted billions of dollars from programs in Saint Kitts and in Saint Lucia, directly to Hong Kong's banks.


If this means you must raise Country Risk on China itself, then do it. otherwise, you increase the chances that your bank will unwittingly fall victim to assisting in the evasion of international sanctions, or something even worse. Those US Congressmen are dead right on this; believe them, and act accordingly if you are a compliance officer at a US bank with substantial international trade clients.

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

WHY DID THE UNITED STATES AGREE TO PROVIDE $300m IN FUNDING TO A COUNTRY IN CHINA'S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE?


This week's news from the Caribbean included a signing ceremony at the US Embassy in Barbados, wherein America signed together with the Prime Minister of Saint Kitts & Nevis, a Memorandum of Understanding promising to make up to three hundred million dollars in development money available, through the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Has the American government lost its mind? The St. Kitts PM, and indeed his entire country, is mired in a messy eight figure fraud, money laundering and corruption scandal. Drew himself is alleged to be a central player in the corruption, and any objective observer would conclude that the leaders of Saint Kitts are completely under the influence of the Peoples' Republic of China, which has taken billions out of the country, and appear to have its government under its firm control.

Doesn't anyone at Ex-Im Bank bother to conduct enhanced due diligence before approving financing guaranteed by the United States? There's something dreadfully wrong here; we can only hope that the incoming administration, which appears to be clear-eyed on China as a clear and present danger to the United States, block funding.Otherwise, it's like giving China a credit card, and allowing it to have a shopping spree at Uncle Sam's expense. Wake up, America!

WILL THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE IN CHARGE OF AML/CFT COMPLIANCE AT TD BANK FACE A RECKONING, OR WILL THEY SIMPLY FIND POSITIONS ELSEWHERE?

The Faces of Evil

As a former career money launderer, my mission is to Keep Coming Straight on at you with the Truth. When MOSSACK & FONSECA self-destructed, and its name partners arrested, I published the names of all the lawyers and paralegals there who had assisted the world's corrupt PEPs in hiding and laundering their bribes and kickbacks in bulletproof BVI corporations. I did that so that these individuals, who were actively concealing their dark past at M & F, would not be accepted at Panama's legitimate law firms, where they might potentially target those firms' clients' assets, using the tricks they learned from their prior employer.


TD Bank's leaders have gone on record to state that there will be "accountability," regarding those individuals who were responsible for years of a completely dysfunctional compliance program. Frankly, given all the spin contained in their carefully parsed public statements, all of which reek of PR origin, and signify nothing, I don't trust the bank to discipline its errant compliance leaders, and their direct superiors in the chain of command. I suspect that they will simply give them glowing recommendations, as they go out the door, only to be hired elsewhere by unsuspecting bankers ignorant of the truth.

The identities of those individuals responsible for the three billion dollar fine will probably never be known to the financial community, unless they are named & shamed. Will TD do it, or must that information appear in another forum?

MONEY LAUNDERING INTO U.S. BANKS THROUGH CARIBBEAN CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMS CONTINUES UNABATED AND IGNORED


For decades, six figure application fees have been paid by dodgy foreign nationals, many from high-risk jurisdictions, into the Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) passport sales programs of the five East Caribbean states, all going into correspondent accounts at America's biggest financial institutions, without any adequate prior AML/CFT compliance being conducted abroad. While we fully understand that those accounts are a lifeline to the developing countries from the Caribbean region, which must import 90% of finished consumer goods for local consumption, and American foreign policy has always been to support those countries in their economic development, the time has come to interdict large amounts of criminal proceeds that are effectively being laundered in our New York and Miami financial centers, because a substantial portion of it goes on to be invested in the United States for  transnational career criminals, corrupt PEPs, foreign tax cheats, and a host of the other Usual Suspects who would never pass a due diligence check should they dare to seek to open an account in an American bank.

Remember, it was the late William (Billy) Herbert, then the Foreign Minister of Saint Kitts & Nevis who, when he invented CBI forty years ago, chose to require that applicants remit their funds in US Dollars, rather than any European or Caribbean currency, which is what started what has become one long continuing money laundering nightmare for those US banks that choose to service the Caribbean through correspondent accounts. That, ladies & gentlemen, is how we have ended up in such a dark place, where AML is consistently ignored by the CBI states, and both Federal law enforcement agencies and our esteemed regulatory agencies sit on the sidelines and let all this dirty money enter our financial structure unmolested and untouched. 

If there is a bright side anywhere for the United States, it is that court decisions construing the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 have conferred personal jurisdiction of foreign nationals that use our Dollars to commit money laundering, even though they have never entered the United States. The problems is that our law enforcement has utterly failed to use this valuable tool against those who would clean their proceeds of crime through CBI, into our banks. I challenge the incoming administration to step up, and shut down these financial barbarians literally at our gates, block and seize unchecked CBI funds from the Caribbean are entering with zero compliance, start bringing indictments of the bad actors, and if necessary, take whatsoever steps it deems necessary and proper to either reform the CBI programs, or failing that, deny them the ability to deposit what has become a financial obscenity into American banks. 

Saturday, November 23, 2024

CONFRONTED WITH INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE AGAINST HIM, ST. KITTS' PRIME MINISTER ATTEMPTS TO CONFUSE THE ISSUES WITH DISINFORMATION

 

Caribbean Galaxy's YING JIN with PM DREW at the United Nations

In the aftermath of MSR Media's PHILIPPE MARTINEZ' podcast confirming that Saint Kitts Prime Minister TERRANCE DREW had approved the processing of illegally-discounted CARIBBEAN GALAXY citizenship, for the Jail Project, and demanding to know where all the Galaxy money was, Drew attempted to divert attention from the $962m unaccounted for. He told a media interviewer a ridiculous story, to the effect that that an unnamed representative of Martinez had demanded a huge monetary sum to settle the pending RICO lawsuit. He also alleged that Martinez' representative had demanded that the money come from the Saint Kitts government. The story was a complete fabrication. Drew did not meet with any authorized representative of MSR Media. Obviously, the purpose of Drew's interview was to create public anger at Martinez, due to the alleged demand for public money, which was completely untrue.

 In truth and in fact, not only was none of Drew's story true, but he had not met with Martinez' only legal representative, Saint Kitts attorney, Damian Kelsick, to discuss the case. According to Kelsick, Drew did not meet with any authorized representative of MSR Media; we have the email confirming that there was never such a meeting. Kelsick's reply to the government lawyer's request for a settlement proposal was no meeting with any MSR representative. Obviously, the purpose of Drew's interview was to create public anger at Martinez.We note that the Government of Saint Kitts is not a defendant in the RICO case, which names Galaxy and several other parties. The Drew interview was designed to distract attention from Martinez' evidence of corruption money paid to officials offshore. MSR Media has transmitted the bank statements to the US Department of Justice as well as the court in Saint Kitts, as Martinez stated in his podcast. It confirms massive corruption, money laundering and fraud, on the part of Galaxy, as well as several individuals, both inside and out of St. Kitts government.

PM Drew again lied to his people by stating he has not approved MSR in the CBI. Drew had signed in November 2023 an agreement between MSR and his government authorizing MSR to shoot and build new movie industry in the country. and become a Public Benefit Option .PM Drew, in his ongoing due diligence, lies; he only stopped the construction of the jail project, which raises questions on whether Galaxy paid in advance the money for the construction or not, but PM Drew, in his ongoing due diligence and despite all the warnings, continued to process the jail project applications under the legal  price set by his own government. Now the biggest questions are where is the $40 million US dollars allocated to build the jail? And why Drew is defending Galaxy ? Who is Drew protecting ?

Martinez, in responding to Drew's interview, stated " Where is the Galaxy money? The evidence we provided to the Saint Kitts courts and the US Department of Justice confirms that passports were sold illegally under the posted price by two sales agents for Galaxy, during the Drew Administration." Furthermore,  he has suggested several times to the Prime Minister, and to SKN Attorney General Wilkin, that Wilkin travel to Washington DC to meet with the Department of Justice, and the Federal agents working the case based upon the evidence provided by MSR Media. The AG has refused to follow Martinez suggestions. In August 2023, Martinez suggested that Wilkin should definitely meet with the US DOJ, so the people of Saint Kitts will know what Caribbean Galaxy is doing with the CBI money.

For his safety, it has been suggested to Mr. Martinez by US law enforcement that he remains in the United States while the investigation is ongoing. In the meanwhile former SKN CIU and Galaxy CEO LES KHAN is nowhere to be found.

SAINT LUCIA'S ARROGANT DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ERNEST HILAIRE IS THE FOURTH RICHEST INDIVIDUAL AMONG GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN THE FORMER BRITISH CARIBBEAN TERRITORIES


As part and parcel of our continuing investigation of corruption in the Citizenship by Investment (CIP) programs in the five East Caribbean states that sell passports, we have been calculating which senior government officials, at the ministerial level and above, have become multi-millionaires through the  illicit payment to them of bribes & kickbacks for each any every citizenship sold in their respective jurisdictions. 

We have taken published government figures, information obtained from confidential sources, and conservative estimates given from industry experts and former insiders, and come up with a short list of the officials who have collected the most cash from their criminal careers as facilitators who have used their authority to approve an obscene number of applications, often in numbers that exceed the total population of the states that they are charged to lead.

While we have decided to defer publishing all our findings of fact and conclusions, for the time being, it has come to our attention that there is one individual who stands out among the rogues' gallery of sinners, whom we wish to bring to the attention of our readers, simply because his illegally-derived wealth is all out of proportion to the small CIP role his country has previously played among the five East Caribbean states; It is Saint Lucia's Deputy Prime Minister, ERNEST HILAIRE, who we have determined is the fourth richest Caribbean government official, in all the English-speaking former British Caribbean territories that are now independent states. His incestuous relationship with former Bank of America banker-turned SKN CIU head, turned-Galaxy CEO, LES KHAN, is one of the principal reasons for his ultra-wealth status, which you will hearing much more about in future articles. Khan is  missing in action, as we have assembled all the facts.


Les Khan

DPM Hilaire, whose extraordinary amount of illicit wealth would frankly shock most readers, has managed to secrete much of his ill-gotten gains abroad, both via investments through shell companies, by using nominees and assignees, and in cold hard cash hoarded overseas. He has accumulated literally a King's Ransom in assets, for the proverbial rainy day when he hopes to quietly leave Saint Lucia forever, and live a life of utter luxury, at the cost of the constituents that he has misrepresented all these years.

So the question becomes this: will the long arm of law enforcement reach out and touch him, before he has the opportunity to spend all that dirty cash in the capitals of Europe, or will he cheat justice? Only certain government officials, who are outside of the Caribbean, know the answer to that question, and they, for the time being, are not talking. 



 

DOES FAILURE TO DISCLOSE THE CURRENT LEGAL PROBLEMS OF THE MIGRATION INVESTMENT INDUSTRY TO BUYERS CONSTITUTE FRAUD?

 


This morning I read a lengthy article by an individual who claims to hold a doctorate, and is in the migration investment industry in Dubai, concerning all the advantages of acquiring a Saint Kitts Citizenship by Investment (CB) passport. The article touted the future construction of a massive performing arts center in Basseterre, touted as being only a small part of the benefits of purchasing an SKN passport. What the article did NOT say is that anyone traveling around Saint Kitts would see unfinished and abandoned construction sites everywhere, all testaments to the systemic problems that the CBI program has, with no solution in sight. Is the failure of the CBI vendors to disclose all the major problems with the Saint Kitts program fraud? Let's discuss.

None of the companies currently selling Saint Kitts or Saint Lucia CBI or CIP are telling prospective purchasers that there is a huge $150m RICO suit filed in the United States, alleging massive fraud, money laundering and corruption. Some of the same companies selling those passports are actually guilty of selling illegally-discounted citizenships, which is a felony under the laws of the jurisdictions that offer them. Does this abject failure to make such required disclosures amount to fraud in the inducement?

Add to this all the other negative aspects of holding a CBI passport: that it can be revoked without any Due Process; that it exposes the holder to being targeted by Western law enforcement agencies simply by virtue of having a passport used by transnational criminals, spies, tax cheats, sanctions evaders, and all the Usual Suspects, and you wonder whether how any court of competent jurisdiction could do anything other than rule against CBI vendors, in a civil, or even criminal, court of law? 

Let's also remember that these Caribbean countries have a long and sordid history of being tax havens, popular destinations for dirty money seeking to escape law enforcement seizure and forfeiture, and were formerly designated as Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT) by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Do we simply forget that they were global pariahs in the past? That history should be disclosed, in an overabundance of caution, by any seller of a product coming from that region.

Don't be surprised if unhappy CBI purchasers seeking relief through the courts when their precious passports are summarily revoked, or if  they run into serious legal problems, simply because of the passport they present to customs & immigration upon arrival one day.