JAMAICA'S PRIME MINISTER DIRECTLY BLAMES GASTON BROWNE'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH AUTOCRATIC DICTATORS FOR ANTIGUA'S LOSS OF AMERICAN VISA PRIVILEGES

In a powerful televised interview, the former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, when discussing the situation regarding Caribbean states that have thrown their political lot in with the dictatorships in China, Cuba and Venezuela, remarked that it was Antigua's Prime Minister, GASTON BROWNE's close relationship with the former president of Venezuela, NICOLAS MADURO MOROS, that was directly responsible for the American decision to end the ability of Antiguans to freely visit the United States under its visa program.

While it is well known that the rampant corruption in that Caribbean nation's Citizenship by Investment program (CIP) is the specified grounds for the imposition of what is, in essence, a termination Antiguans' ability to secure a U.S. visa, he stated that Browne's reckless personal affiliation with Maduro directly contributed to the actions of the United State State Department.

Former PM Golding , who joked that current geopolitical reality, and his candor, could result in his own loss of his U.S. visa, noted that Browne's misconduct has severely hurt the people of Antigua, with no relief in sight. He predicted that Antiguans might possibly gain back the ability to secure U.S. visas again in the distant future, in 2029, but that prospect even then was far from certain, and represented only hope on his part.

Antigua PM Browne has gone to great lengths on local media, assuring Antiguans that there will be some sort of "reexamination" of the U.S. visa restrictions after 180 days, which translated to July 1, but there is not only no factual basis for his statements, it is misleading his constituents to portray it as true and correct information. Antiguans are best advised to believe former Jamaican Prime Minister Golding's harsh dose of reality and get used to years of restrictions, Make your travel plans for other destinations, gentlemen, as America will remain off limits, courtesy your Prime Minister, and your rogue CIP program.

THE UNTOUCHABLE FACILITATORS: WHY THE RCBI INDUSTRY FAILS TO STOP THE CYCLE OF FRAUD

While regulators focus on the "Architects" of failed CBI projects, the "Facilitators" who weaponize the market to sell these scams often escape through the back door—only to repeat the same predatory patterns under new brand names.

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED; DOJ FAILS TO REIGN IN AMERICANS INVOLVED IN FCPA AND MONEY LAUNDERING IN MALTA IN 2021

The American compliance community had high hopes that the incoming Biden Administration would make good on its promises to target and indict wealthy American businessmen involved in corrupt practices in the massive hospital privatization scandal in January 2021; it had implored the DOJ to charge the offenders with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and money laundering offenses, without success, and had received assurances that officials in the corrupt "Champagne Socialist" government in Valletta would also be targeted.

After January 20, 2021, the severe disappointment felt, not only in the private sector here, but also in America's law enforcement and intelligence communities, when the DOJ, and SDNY ignored pleas for action, receiving instead platitudes regarding the existence of other priorities. In short, America dropped the ball, big time, in pursuing, multiple targets, up to and including the former and present prime ministers, and ignoring expanding terrorist financing, using both legacy and cryptocurrency, that resulted in millions of dollars being funneled to HAMAS, aiding and abetting in preparations for the subsequent attack on Israel. The risk adverse DOJ just couldn't be bothered with such a prime target, as it was sitting within a backwater of the European Union, notwithstanding the National Security threats.

After experience, the compliance world lost respect for the DOJ, and went back to their AML/CFT duties sadder but wiser.

HOW ANTIGUA'S CORRUPT RULING LABOUR PARTY "STEALS" ALL THE YOUNG AND PROMISING LEADERS OF THE OPPOSITION; IT MAKES THEM AN OFFER THEY CANN0T REFUSE

Here is some pure pro-China propaganda published recently by House of Representatives Member DWAYNE GEORGE, who was formerly a rising political leader in the Opposition (UPP) in Antigua and Barbuda, until he jumped ship, and joined the ruling ABLP, the Labour Party. Many of the cream of the crop at the United Progressive Party have strangely switched their political affiliation to ABLP, literally stealing promising future leaders right out from under the Opposition's hands.

The answer reveals that there is a dark side to Antigua's already bare-knuckle politics; George, as well as a number of the bright, up-and-coming UPP politicians, are offered large (under the table) cash payments from individuals acting on the express orders of the country's corrupt Prime Minister, GASTON BROWNE. It is, of course, more money than any of these individuals has ever had in a country with a dysfunctional economy and no middle class; extremely tempting, and Greed rears its angry head more often than not, as these men see how affluent ABLP leaders all are.

Many bright and ambitious UPP leaders are led down the path of corruption which has been plowed for decades by the ABLP, and any chance that a popular budding politician can wreak change in Antigua is quashed, when he transits to the party that wrote the book on corruption.

This, the Dwayne George story, has been seen time and again, and as you can see, Dwayne, who abruptly shifted his political alliance, leaving his UPP friends in the dust, without warning, is only one of many that Gaston Browne has used to strip the Opposition of competent young leadership, and to perpetuate what is essentially a one-party autocracy, masquerading as a democracy, closely allied with the Peoples' Republic of China, Cuba, and the other dictatorships of the world. George's now ABLP-orchestrated political future rests solely on the party's smoke and mirrors, and as change is coming, he will have a long way to fall when it does.

THE TRIPLE THREAT OF INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE THAT HANGS OVER ANTIGUA LIKE THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES

If you are paying attention to the major pending American cases that will soon rain evidence of drug money laundering and corruption upon the power structure governing Antigua and Barbuda, ALEX SAAB MORAN (SDFL), NICOLAS MADURO MOROS ( SDNY), and the two ALFA NERO §1782 proceedings in two different districts, you know that every senior official in Antigua should already have an experienced Miami or New York criminal defense attorney in retainer, lest he be pulled from bed one dark night by a contingent of U.S. Special Forces, for the threats are real.

Add to that triple threat of cases a soon to be filed major new Federal indictment in the Southern District of Florida, reportedly charging Maduro and friends, involving financial crime committed within the United States. You can expect to see at least four dozen new articles detailing the various racketeering enterprises, all of which were facilitated by, and transited through, Antigua's financial structure, en route to being laundered and invested abroad, whether within North America, or the Middle East, Western Europe, or Asia.

The soiled hands of those financial professionals in Antigua who transferred the proceeds of crime, together with the government officials who profited from allowing an international laundering scheme to flourish, will be revealed, and the result of those disclosures will most likely have a negative economic, political, moral and diplomatic effect upon Antigua not seen seen since the Allen Stanford Ponzi Scheme scandal in 2009.

Antiguans are advised to closely monitor American media, so that they may learn about how their leaders have sold them out for greed and avarice, and so they know who to blame when things go south in their lives, who to target for retribution, whether in the courts, the criminal justice system, or the political sphere, if there is still time to do so, before the opportunity for redress vanishes into fiscal disaster. Watch & learn, ladies and gentlemen.

40 YEARS AFTER IT BEGAN, THE LAST PRISONER FROM MY MONEY LAUNDERING DAYS HAS BEEN RELEASED

I see that JOSE ELIAS SEPULVEDA, who was the last individual in Federal custody connected to my Miami Vice money laundering case, was released from prison last year. He received two Life Sentences for drug crimes, in a massive case where the Court handed down even more severe punishment, if you can believe such things still happen for non-violent offenses.

Having served more than 25 years, he is now seventy years old; I note that he became a subject of the Last Prisoner Project, which targeted those serving extremely long terms for marijuana convictions. Otherwise, he would still be imprisoned. Given that marijuana has been more or less legalized, I wonder if justice was truly served in his case.

THE ABJECT FAILURE OF THE CARIBBEAN CBI STATES TO REFORM THEIR PROGRAMS WILL SOON HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON TOURISM

The recent experience of a Dominican national who is the president elect of the Caribbean largest travel and tourism association speak volume for the future of the region. GREGOR NASSIEF, who is affiliated with one of Dominica's CBI hotel projects, was denied a renewal of his U.S. visa, prompting Caribbean tourism media to warn that the inability of West Indians to enter the United States, could seriously impact the region's competitiveness as a travel destination, as well as interfere with international business travel of Caribbean entrepreneurs.

Until and unless the Caribbean CBI and CIP economic passport issuing states choose to engage in radical and complete reform of their programs, restrictions on U.S. visas will not only continue, but will increase in severity. The United States government judges these rogue programs as a National Security threat, and as long as arrogant Caribbean leaders refuse to clean up the money laundering, fraud and corruption that infect their CBI agencies, the restrictions will increase exponentially, damaging weak local economies, and making life difficult for the average Eastern Caribbean resident, who is already in economic difficulty.

When Dominica and Antigua clean up their Citizenship by Investment programs, conditions will improve, but apparently neither PM ROOSEVELT SKERRIT nor PM GASTON BROWNE are listening. Therefore, buckle up, for it is only going to get worse in 2027 and beyond. Arrogance and xenophobia amongst Caribbean leaders will again meet a response from the a Trump Administration soon to refocus on the region.

THE "GOLD STANDARD" OR JUST GOLD? HOW IMC’s MEMBERSHIP PROCESS MAY BE AIDING BAD ACTORS IN THE CBI AND RCBI INDUSTRY

 

NEW NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT TO THE U.S. FROM ANTIGUA; CHINESE FUNDING TO RECAPITALIZE GLOBAL BANK OF COMMERCE, SAAB MORAN'S FAVORITE VEHICLE FOR MONEY LAUNDERING

Antiguan government regulators (FSRC) are reportedly putting the finishing touches on a scheme to refloat the insolvent GLOBAL BANK OF COMMERCE, and they intend to accept dodgy Chinese funding to achieve this. Our readers are familiar with the money laundering Global Bank, now under Administration when it was unable to remit the substantial deposits of a Canadian bank customer on demand. More directly, that indigenous bank was the allegedly the primary vehicle for money laundering narcotics profits and terrorist funding by ALEX SAAB MORAN, of the Venezuelan cartel lead by former President NICOLAS MADURO MOROS.

The funding, which will reportedly come from a Hong Kong-based entity (FANCY BRIDGE LTD.) linked to WIOC, which is believed presently to be under criminal investigation in the United States, both linked to corruption involving the country's arrogant Prime Minister, GASTON BROWNE, who has also been interfering with the proceedings filed against Global Bank, by its Canadian victim. Payments into Antigua, for local senior government officials, have apparently been documented by local media.

There is a well-placed fear that, once Chinese funding is placed into Global Bank, it will never be able to secure a correspondent banking relationship in the American financial structure, due to the taint of Saab Moran's extensive laundering history there, and it could end up sanctioned by OFAC. as a National Security threat to the United States.

Antiguan citizens, who are already facing repeated instances where there American-based credit card transactions are being declined, for compliance purposes, could face the nightmare of losing all direct correspondent accounts with U.S. banks, due to Global's prior incestuous intimate working relationship with other Antiguan banks, rendering the entire Antiguan financial structure too high risk for American financial institutions to accept. Antigua could end up totally cut off from U.S. banks, which would push its distressed economy, especially imports, into insolvency.

CAN THE UNITED STATES FIND AN EXCEPTION TO HEAD-OF-STATE IMMUNITY FOR NATIONAL LEADERS, AND INDICT, DETAIN AND TRY THE FIVE EASTERN CARIBBEAN LEADERS OF CBI STATES?

In the aftermath of the action taken by the Government of the United States to capture the sitting President of Venezuela, and bring him to New York to stand trial in U.S. District Court, we have been repeatedly presented with an issue of great public importance to the citizens of the Eastern Caribbean states: Whether the law provides an exception to the Head-of-State Immunity Doctrine, to allow the United States to indict and try, on criminal charges, any or all of the five Prime Ministers of the five Eastern Caribbean states that sell economic citizenships, also known as Citizenship by Investment or CBI/CIP. The Five EC states are Saint Kitts & Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Saint Lucia,  and Grenada. 

This an extremely complex legal issue, and it deserves an objective analysis, involving both explicit and implicit waivers of immunity. Of course, the legal argument supporting the Nicolas Maduro case can be disposed of easily; Maduro's status as a duly elected leader of Venezuela was bogus, as he conclusively lost the presidential election in 2024, to Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who received twice the number of votes, but Maduro, fraudulently claiming 51% of the votes cast, illegally claimed victory. Inasmuch as the United States never accepted him as sitting president, his capture and removal were not subject to Head-of-State immunity. There is no dispute in that matter.

However, when you shift to the leaders of the five EC CBI-issuing states, the issues become far more complicated. The central reason that America wants these five Labour Party, left-leaning pro-China and pro-Cuba leaders out of power is that their national policies, led by their massive sales of CBI passports to Chinese nationals, have become a Clear and Present Danger to the National Security of the United States. Unfortunately, that in and of itself is not an exception recognized under the decisional case.

So we look to legal authorities for guidance; perhaps the leaders and most recent law review article on the subject, HEAD OF STATE AND FOREIGN OFFICIAL IMMUNITY AFTER SAMANTAR: A SUGGESTED APPROACH, 34 Fordham Intl. Law J. (2011),which takes us to the United States Supreme Court case of  Samatar vs. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305 (2010), holding (1) The Court must look to the Common Law, not the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for a solution, and (2) The position of the Department of State on the subject must be given great weight.

What about the grounds stated in support of the American Maduro capture, unlawful holder of elected office? In truth and in fact, the National Elections conducted in the Eastern Caribbean cannot be declared to be free and fair. They are marred by widespread and organized voter fraud, whether by cash payments made in advance to voters to guide their choice, the promise of other consideration, such as employment in a seriously dysfunctional economy, airfare and other gifts paid to impoverished and unemployed individuals, and several other types of voter fraud, all of which result in a skewed result in favor of what amounts to a one-party, non-democratic state. Could the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, determine that these five prime ministers are not lawfully in office? Most certainly.

Alternatively, One of the grounds cited in the case against General Manuel Noriega, the former Panamanian dictator, was the fact that his illegal activities, designed to amass great wealth through drug trafficking, private pursuit of personal enrichment, all linked to the charges filed against him, led the Executive Branch to deny him immunity. The massive fraud, money laundering and corruption of the five Eastern Caribbean Prime Ministers, which are part of what would be the charged misconduct in their indictments, qualify for a similar interpretation by the Secretary of State. 

Therefore, we find that the United States has sufficient legal authority to bring the appropriate criminal charges against these five sitting Caribbean leaders, and given the increasing National Security risks to America that they represent, there should be no delay in the Trump Administration filing indictments forthwith, taking them into custody, and prosecuting them; let it be done.  

MADURO AND SAAB MORAN CASES REMIND US THAT MALTA REMAINS THE UNDISTURBED MONEY LAUNDERING BAD BOY OF THE EU

In the Maduro and Saab cases now pending in the United States, We will be seeing reminders of the status of the Republic of Malta as the money laundering jurisdiction of choice for Venezuelan laundrymen. For those who are not familiar with this subject, a few examples are appropriate:

(1) Alex Saab's illicit Venezuelan supply chains and oil trades, to and through Malta-registered companies he and his associates controlled.

(2) Saab frequently relied on Malta's offshore banking system and opaque corporate transparency to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from low-cost housing and food welfare programs in Venezuela, into safe destinations abroad.

(3) Maduro's alleged use of a private Maltese investment firms and PORTMANN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT to move €160m in a money laundering conspiracy connected to embezzlement from the government oil agency, PDVSA.

(4) The abuse of Malta's financial system for President Maduro's three stepsons' illicit activities, involving massive food import fraud, facilitated by Saab.

And while we are on the subject, American compliance officers who were aware of the activities of the money laundering Maltese entity, PILATUS BANK, and who anxiously awaited indictments in the United States after the election of Joe Biden, only to be acutely disappointed when the DOJ failed for charge the Iranian owner, are still wondering whether politics played a role. The ability of Malta's money launderers to act with impunity, free from law enforcement action against what amounts to a racketeering enterprise masquerading as a sovereign state, continues to confound observers, as the US and UK pointedly ignore major criminal operations originating in Malta.

Anyway, a lot of it will come out, once again in the Maduro and Saab cases; all the cases of American law enforcement malpractice, regarding Malta, will be front and center once more. We wonder what the DOJ will say now.