WITH CBI ABOUT TO BECOME HISTORY, BRANTLEY'S NEVIS MUST CLEAN UP ITS OFFSHORE SECTOR TO FULFILL BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS AND CLEAR HIMSELF

In a detailed presentation discussing the challenges facing Grenada in a future without Citizenship by Investment program revenue, Nevis Premier Mark Brantley called for diversification in its economy, notwithstanding what he described as a small national population with insufficient human capital to support economic development. He would best look to his own nation, which with a population of approximately only 13,000, even with that of Federation partner Saint Kitts, still ends up at less than the 60,000 residents he deems necessary for proper expansion of a domestic economy.

Therefore, Nevis, which has like the others only applied CBI funds to covering a substantial part of the island's budget, and did not use it to develop a diversified economy, must now focus on its growing financial sector, especially its offshore banking, to ensure that there will be sufficient funding each year to pay government salaries and necessary expenses. The problem is that the island's troubled financial sector's issues are not being addressed, neither by Brantley, nor by the FSRC, the regulatory agency. Until and unless those important issues are addressed, Nevis' economic future is clouded.

If, as some observers have predicted, the gathering storm over Citizenship by Investment fraud, money laundering and corruption in Saint Kitts results in American criminal indictments of senior Kittitian government officials, clearing the way for Brantley to become Prime Minister of the Federation, but he must first extricate Nevis, and himself personally, from the offshore bank quagmire he faces.

HAS MARCO RUBIO FOUND ANOTHER WAY TO REIN IN THE GOVERNMENT OF SAINT LUCIA?

As we have often explained, one of the fastest ways for the United States to signal to a government in the Eastern Caribbean that it policies meet with American disapproval, or worse, are a direct threat, is to start to reduce the country's only lucrative industry, American tourism. The recent Travel Advisory, issued by the U.S. State Department, raising the Threat Level on Saint Lucia to Level 2, "Exercise Increased Caution," may be part of such a plan. Whether Saint Lucia's crime status has justified this increase, or whether this is simply Secretary Rubio wielding a Big Stick, we cannot say, but what if the latter is true?

Are things going to get worse in Saint Lucia? Will cruise ships cancel visits? Will American flag airlines cut back on flights, when reservations drop off? We will be watching for other signs America is moving against the economies of Eastern Caribbean states where corruption and financial crime, supported by government officials, or foreign policy allied with America's autocratic enemies, threatens National Security.

TWO STRIKES AGAINST NEVIS; WILL INSOLVENT OFFSHORE BANKS DETER FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?

The painfully visible financial troubles of HAMILTON RESERVE BANK and BONI (BANK OF NEW INNOVATION), which have soiled the reputation of Nevis as a trustworthy international financial center, may end up causing High Net Worth Individuals seeking a user-friendly tax haven to begin to avoid the jurisdiction altogether. The fact that the island's regulatory agent, the local branch of the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) have allowed offshore banks under its supervision to continue to advertise for new clients, while defaulting in servicing depositors by failing to allow withdrawals on demand, and in many cases flat out refusing them their money, has not gone unnoticed in the global investment community.

When you demand minimum seven figure initial deposits, and then take dilatory action when your clients request funds transfers, you not only lose the trust of your customers, but you place the jurisdiction which granted you your license into disrepute, to the extent that the business world starts to give it a wide berth for all intents and purposes. Whether these incipient bank failures will sour foreign investors on the local real estate market itself remains to be seen, but it could have a knock-on effect on demand and pricing.

Prudent advice to FSRC leadership, as well as the island's Premier, MARK BRANTLEY, who was influential in the development of the island's growing offshore sector, is to nip this problem in the bud, through assisting in fair settlement of the victims, directly or indirectly, before the international damage becomes irreparable. There is still time before repairs will be too little and too late, but that moment is fast approaching. My advice to Nevisian government leaders and regulators is to act now, if you want to preserve what's left of the goodwill you have with the investment world, but act quickly, please.

SAINT LUCIA GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OFFER UP MONEY LAUNDERING EVIDENCE ON CIP AGAINST PRIME MINISTER PIERRE AND THE SLLP, IN EXCHANGE FOR THEMSELVES NOT BEING NAMED IN OTHER EGREGIOUS CRIMINAL CONDUCT

In a curious development originating in the Eastern Caribbean, some senior government officials in Saint Lucia have reached out to American law enforcement, identifying both Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre and leaders in the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLLP) in a major money laundering operation that reportedly employed a CIP and drug trafficking scheme to launder criminal profits to themselves, in cash. These officials are said to possess incriminating evidence in support of their statements.

The stated reason for their proffered cooperation is a genuine concern that they will themselves now be identified as involved in a specific type of despicable criminal conduct, and their strong desire to stop this from being publicly exposed, which would seriously damage their reputations in the community. Knowledge of their commission of heinous crimes would taint and mark them in the small Caribbean island state, whose total population is only 180,000.

The fact that this first-hand information and evidence was offered up at a location outside Saint Lucia speaks volumes regarding their fears that their betrayal will not leak back to their leaders, as political homicide is no stranger to that island state. We decline to name which government agency the individuals who are seeking to parlay their inside information for immunity and anonymity, as they. might then be identified by longtime residents familiar with government staff.

OUR MOST NOTORIOUS FUGITIVE INTERNET FRAUDSTER, KRISTI ROSS, HIDES FROM THE LONG ARM OF AMERICAN JUSTICE IN NEVIS

KRISTY MARIE ROSS a/k/a KRISTI ROSS, called the Queen of Scareware, who controlled a rogue Belize-based Internet software company that defrauded a million American consumers out of  $163 million, who paid her to fix nonexistent and fabricated problems on their computers, has been evading the long arm of American justice, and  failing to make restitution by paying an outstanding Federal judgment in that amount, by hiding from the authorities in the Caribbean island of Nevis, part of the Federation of Saint Kitts & Nevis, for more than a decade. We are unable to confirm that she holds  CBI citizenship with a SKN passport, but believe that she does. 

The FTC Act monetary judgment against her, which was affirmed in appeal by the 4th Circuit, has never been paid, even in part, because Ross, who has been reviled in the Internet software industry for more than a decade, evaded justice by skipping out to Nevis, where she keeps close company with a cast of dodgy offshore characters who use the island's abusive tax haven laws to operate a bank which has reportedly been closely linked to the Chinese-owned CARIBBEAN GALAXY GROUP.

Ross's associates in Nevis include China-born bank investor BENJAMIN WEY,  and a local banker,  HOWARD A. LEWIS. Both are affiliated with HAMILTON RESERVE BANK, headquartered in Nevis, which should not be confused with other similarly named financial institutions in the United States. The Nevis-based Hamilton Bank has no offices in America; its only other offices are in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.

The five CBI-issuing states of the East Caribbean, which includes Saint Kitts & Nevis, rarely if ever permit extradition of those individuals who have purchased CBI/CIP passports, so we must assume that any efforts to return Kristi Ross to the United States, to face any pending criminal charges, have been unsuccessful, but justice demands that she make restitution to American consumers for her fraudulent acts. Unfortunately, we cannot rely upon government officials in Nevis, who have allowed and permitted her to remain there on an indefinite basis,  to obtain justice for the victims.  Ask Nevis Premier MARK BRANTLEY why she is allowed to live there, given the circumstances of her massive consumer fraud.

MORE DETAILS SURFACE ON MONEY LAUNDERING ARREST OF FORMER DOMINICA MINISTER OF TOURISM, ROBERT TONGE

Robert Tonge

Further to our last on this developing case, kindly note the correct spelling of the defendant is TONGE, and not tongue, and he is known around Dominica as Robbie. He was processed and released, and evidence was taken from his personal automobile.

There is confirmation that the case involves money laundering, through the use of cryptocurrency, for both narcotics trafficking clients, and reportedly some government funds. Other reports say he is wanted in the United States, and was arrested by Dominica Police through a request from US law enforcement, but we do not have independent confirmation on this detail.

TOO LATE TO MATTER, THE CARIBBEAN STATES FINALLY ATTEMPT REGULATORY CONTROL OF CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT.

"The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's Monetary Council says the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority (ECCIRA) remains on track to begin operations in September 2026 as the region moves to strengthen oversight of its citizenship by investment programmes."

"The update came in a communiqué issued following the Council's 113th meeting in Dominica on Friday, where finance ministers and premiers from across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union reviewed progress on regional initiatives."

We note that in September, the five Eastern Caribbean states with Citizenship by Investment economic passport programs are finally, after a two year delay, getting around to establishing a regional regulatory authority to control their CBI and CIP. Gentlemen, you are too little and far too late; regulation should have been created a decade ago, if not earlier. Are the five Prime Ministers of the CBI states really believing that, as this late stage, they can convince governments that have seen unqualified and dangerous applicants use their visa-free and low-risk passports to break the laws in Europe and North America, and introduce National Security threats? That is either the height of arrogance, or not living in the normal state of reality; CBI has worn out its welcome.

The EU, the UK, the United States and Canada have had enough of high-risk individuals purchasing Caribbean citizenships, with zero ties to the countries whose passports they use to enter their territories, for dark purposes, and which now are in the possession of nationals from countries hostile and adverse to the Western democracies. Perhaps all these national leaders might want to start building industries that create real jobs for their constituents, instead of feeding off of this easy money to pay unproductive government bureaucrats at agencies that really don't move their undeveloped economies forward, just provide salaries. Let us hope they now choose to do so, rather than engage in a futile fight to preserve CBI, which now faces an inevitable end game in the Caribbean.

COULD THE GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL REGULATOR BE FOUND LIABLE IN NEVIS' HAMILTON RESERVE BANK LITIGATION? WILL THEY?

The targeting of the Nevis Branch of the Federation's FINANCIAL SERVICES REGULATORY COMMISSION, its banking regulator, in the litigation by depositors of Hamilton Reserve Bank, may come as a surprise to many readers, but given the anger of the victims, who are being given weak excuses by the bank for the failure to return their money, it is understandable.

Granted that, under English Common Law, upon with St.Kitts laws are based, recovery of claims against financial institutions through regulators for negligence is rarely granted, but the argument that gross negligence was present, when the FSRC ignored solvency issued at Hamilton, and freely allowed it to continue to advertise for new clients, may prevail. Additionally, evidence surrounding the role that Nevis Premier MARK BRANTLEY played in the approval of the bank's charter could have a material impact upon the decisions in the litigation; there are a number of cases pending in the High Court in Nevis. We will be analyzing both the pending and completed cases in future articles, so that our readers can more fully understand the course of the litigation.

AMERICAN FOCUS ON IRANIAN USE OF NEVIS COMPANY FOR SUPREME LEADER'S INVESTMENTS AND SKN CBI PASSPORT COULD TORPEDO PREMIER MARK BRANTLEY'S AMBITION TO BECOME PRIME MINISTER

The biggest news out of the US Treasury last week was the imposition of sanctions upon ALI ANSARI, the Dubai-based Iranian bank fraudster and facilitator of global investments for that country's new Supreme Leader MOJTABA KHAMENEI. Ansari, alleged to have pulled millions from a US-sanctioned Iranian bank, AYANDEH BANK, thereby forcing it into insolvency, was reportedly protected from accountability by Khamenei, for whom he covertly placed investments around the globe, using a Nevis-based Saint Kitts corporation first named  ZIBA LEISURE LIMIED, and later SMART GLOBAL LIMITED. Ansari allegedly invested huge sums for Khamenei and his family in CYPRUS, UAE, GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG and SPAIN. 

Ansari facilitated his activities by using a Saint Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passport, which, for all practical purposes he was completely unqualified to acquired, due to his well-know bank fraudster and Politically Exposed Person (PEP) status. Nevertheless, he employed the SKN passport and Nevis-based shell company to launder sanctioned Iranian capital, and quietly place Khamanei's money abroad, concentrating on properties located in Western democracies. Did Brantley personally facilitate the issuance of the passport to Ansari?

This raises the question: Given Ansari'sclose relationship with Nevis, over an extended period of time, and the fact that Nevis Premier MARK BRANTLEY also hold the portfolio of Minister for Investment that affects not only his future as possible Prime Minister of the Federation, but as a conspirator in any indictment handed down in the United States. We note for those readers who believe that America will not indict a foreign Head of State, remember well that both the leaders of the Republic of Panama and the Turks and Caicos Islands were convicted, and spent time in American. prisons, serving their sentences.

This is the latest installment in our continuing series on Nevis, which has now become the center of attention for American law enforcement, due to the central role it has played in the investments made for the Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, his immediate family, ad other senior leaders within the Iranian Government; Stay tuned.

ARREST OF DOMINICA EX-MINISTER OF TOURISM ON MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES; ARE MORE ARRESTS COMING?

ROBERT TONGUE, accused cryptolaunderer

The reported arrest yesterday, of ROBERT T.L. TONGUE, a prominent businessman from the Commonwealth of Dominica, who is both a former Senator and ex-Minister of Tourism and Culture (2014-2019), on charges of money laundering, has raised serious concerns on the part of Dominicans; are more arrests forthcoming? Dominicans, who are now fully aware that there are Cooperating Individuals (CIs) in the Caribbean, know to be supplying incriminating evidence against present and former Dominican government officials, from our recent article

COOPERATION INVOLVING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN ANTIGUA AND DOMINICA, COMING FROM NEW SOURCES, FURTHER EXPOSES MONEY LAUNDERING OPERATIONS THERE

https://rijock.blogspot.com/2026/07/cooperation-involving-criminal-activity.html

are wondering aloud and on radio broadcasts who will be named next.

Tongue allegedly employed cryptocurrency transactions to transfer funds for criminal elements, and collected what are said to be huge fees for his money laundering services. Research reveals TUNER LIFESTYLE INC. , TONGUE FINANCIAL SERVICES and FREIGHTMASTER as corporate entities Tongue is affiliated with. He also claims to be the Coordinator of the Dominican Government Digital Economy Unit. When additional details about the pending case are available, we shall update our readers accordingly. We are especially interested in Tongue's connection to Dominica's crypto sector, some of which has been linked to organized crime.

Readers who have not read the above-mentioned article are urged to review it, in order to further understand why Dominicans fear additional arrests, coming at a time when the Commonwealth faces visa restrictions from the United States, the imminent loss of its CBI economic passport program, and further American sanctions connected to its secret relationship with Communist China that the United States considers a direct National Security threat.

WILL ANTIGUA FAIL TO MEET THE EU SEPTEMBER 2026 INTERIM REQUIREMENTS, AND LOSE VISA-FREE ACCESS THIS YEAR?

You may have been surprised at the counter-demands, made by Antigua's Prime Minister, GASTON BROWNE, in response to the European Union's policy notification to all five EC CBI economic passport-issuing states, but things may get much, much worse very quickly. The EU's required interim measures include that, by this September (meaning 2026, not 2028), the five passport selling jurisdictions must have what is described as "reinforced applicant vetting and the total exclusion of individuals on EU sanctions."

For you non-bankers, this means Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) must be in place in September, and this means on the level of Banking Best Practices in Europe and North America. Given that applicants for Antigua CIP are known to include individuals from countries with non-latin alphabets, such as China, Russia, Korea and nations using Arabic and Persian scripts, it is expected that Antigua's EDD staff will have the capability to not only translate, but transliterate, client information as well as positively confirm identities. Frankly, I have my doubts that this level of inquiry has even been in place in Antigua.  I also know that the country's leadership actively ignored unverifiable applicants for the sake of income,.

Therefore, if and when this deficiency surfaces, will the EU then terminate visa-free privileges for Antiguan passport holders in 2026? Given Browne's arrogant pushback, and the hardline position of EU leadership, there is a strong chance of this happening. We will be watching; should Antigua's CIP program fall short on EDD, look for immediate, and possibly harsh, action by an EU long since tired of the problems that CBI has brought into Europe.

COOPERATION INVOLVING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN ANTIGUA AND DOMINICA, COMING FROM NEW SOURCES, FURTHER EXPOSES MONEY LAUNDERING OPERATIONS THERE

                                

As the saying goes, there's no honor among thieves. We are advised that substantial assistance, from parties providing first-hand evidence regarding criminal operations in Antigua & Dominica, is being rendered to American law enforcement agencies, coming from sources described as extremely close to the leaders of both island states. This information has reportedly been confidentially disclosed, to prevent action being taken against the sources themselves. Whether any grant of immunity, or other arrangement has been extended we cannot say, as no details have been provided.

While we cannot disclose precisely the origin of this new cooperation, please rest assured the general subject matter has been confirmed, meaning that money laundering operations, which have facilitated the transit and cleaning of the proceeds of crime, are known to be the subject matter of this evidence.

Antigua and Dominica are already painfully exposed to the probability that the Maduro and Saab Moran cases, pending in the United States, will end with cooperating defendants disclosing the prominent role that two offshore banks in Antigua, one in Dominica,,and local Antiguan indigenous financial institutions, GLOBAL BANK OF COMMERCE and CARIBBEAN UNION BANK, all played in the movement of illicit funds from Maduro's drug trafficking network. This new information simply adds to the volume of incriminating evidence available to U.S. law enforcement agencies.

HOW FAR WILL LIABILITY EXTEND IN THE HAMILTON BANK LITIGATION?

Serious questions are reportedly being raised by unhappy investors, all of whom made seven or eight figure deposits in Nevis' Hamilton Reserve Bank, and now face delays and what they consider to be unusual dilatory interference with making routine withdrawals, as to how to proceed to enforce their rights, and even collect damages.

Notwithstanding that there is what appears to be a valid Choice of Law provision in their depositor agreements, you can expect that their counsel will explore alternative solutions, seeking to find courts which will take jurisdiction over their claims. Whether they will be successful only time will tell. What constitutes a court of competent jurisdiction remains an open question.

We also have seen victims choose to go after the Saint Kitts and Nevis regulatory agency, Nevis itself, as well as ministers and law enforcement agencies they deem responsible, either through negligence, failure to monitor and control, or even more serious theories. Also, will the court find individuals personally liable for bank actions they deem to be actionable?

All these issues, and Nevis' future as a reputable and trustworthy offshore financial center, are on the table; we will be closely following all the subsequent and already pending litigation, and you can expect regular updates; stay tuned.

WILL WE SEE NOW CBI BUYERS' REMORSE, RESULTING IN LITIGATION, SINCE THE EU ORDERED AN END TO CARIBBEAN PASSPORT SALES BY 2028 AS A CONDITION OF FUTURE ADMITTANCE TO EUROPE

The five EC economic passport-issuing states

Now that the investment migration industry has gotten over the initial shock of learning that its favorite sales item, Caribbean citizenships with visa-free EU access, must disappear entirely in 2028, what will their affluent customers who purchased these soon-to-be-useless-for-Europe identity documents do about their situation?

Will they order their principal law firms to bring suits against the sales consultancy that sold them the six figure investment, and under what theories of liability? Will they also find a way to target the governments that failed to timely reform their citizenship programs, notwithstanding the laws on sovereign immunity?

I am certainly not qualified to answer these questions and analyze these complex issues, but consider this: when Portugal abruptly changed the game with time necessary to secure citizenship in its popular program, investors promptly banded together, and took steps to move, as a group, against these untoward developments. I fully expect to see pushbacks against those entities which investors believe have wronged them, in the coming months, resulting in the overnight closure of CBI consultancies, especially in such unregulated jurisdictions as Dubai, with more after June 2028, when it all must end for the Caribbean economic passport programs; Watch for it.

FACING A SIGNIFICANT REVENUE LOSS WHEN SAINT KITTS CBI GRINDS TO A HALT, NEVIS' PREMIER MARK BRANTLEY MUST REFORM ITS DODGY OFFSHORE FINANCIAL CENTER OR ELSE FACE A COLOSSAL BUDGETARY SHORTFALL

Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister TERRANCE DREW may have chosen not to respond to last month's letter from the European Union, requiring that his country's Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passport sales program be closed within two years, but he knows that it represents a sea change in the financial affairs of the two island federation, as well as for the entire group of five EC passport-issuing states

That life-altering event, total loss of all CBI revenue,  has perhaps the greatest impact in Nevis, whose government budget suffered for years, when Federation leadership in Basseterre doled out an unequal 7.2 per cent of net income to its local government, whilst retaining the vast majority to Kittitian recipients. Although it was later adjusted to a more equitable 25%, more recent revenues sharply declined, due to a number of factors, including but not limited to allegations of fraud, money laundering and corruption. 

Nevis, as we have shown, has historically received the short end of the stick, and now, with the EU action, that needed revenue stream will completely disappear. This untoward development leave the government of Premier MARK BRANTLEY in a difficult situation, which has been made even more tenuous, revenue-wise, by a major unfolding scandal in the island's nascent offshore financial center, especially banking. 

NEVIS, WHERE THE OFFSHORE BANKS ARE HAPPY TO ACCEPT YOUR DEPOSITS; THEY JUST WON'T GIVE THEM BACK. WILL PREMIER BRANTLEY NOW BE FORCED TO RESIGN FOR THIS SCANDAL?

Premier Brantley, who is said to have been instrumental in assisting with beleaguered local Hamilton Reserve Bank secure its license, must now find a way to satisfy unhappy depositors at two offshore banks, while insuring that those financial institutions stay solvent, and restore the reputation of the island as an offshore financial center that investors will continue to flock to for services. Given that Nevis will experience  a serious budgetary shortfall, it is up to the premier, who has designs on the federation's top office, to keep the offshore clients coming, lest Nevis be unable to meet its payroll, and be forced to layoff government workers. What will he do?