EMBATTLED DOMINICA REFUSES TO BE TRANSPARENT ON DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT SCHEME, AND ENGAGES AMERICAN CRISIS MANAGEMENT FIRM TO SPIN THE TRUTH

The Prime Minister, and the Foreign Minister, of Dominica, continue to refuse to disclose the names & nationalities of the individuals who have purchased diplomatic passports, all outside of the normal method of qualifying, and appointing diplomats; they have also flat out refused to show precisely how much money they have paid for these extraordinary documents, which generally allow the holder to avoid both customs and immigration at national frontiers, and ports of entry. Considering that there is no provision for the issuance of diplomatic passports in the Citizenship by Investment Program, it appears to be illegal on its face, and all those involved in issuing those bogus passports deserve to be sacked; their arrogance should shock you, as they are supposed to be public servants, in a democracy, and not kleptocrats.

In lieu of full disclosure, the Government of Dominica has engaged, at substantial cost, an American "crisis management" consulting firm, known as Mercury Public Affairs LLC, at the rate of USD$30,000 per month. The contract term is for three months, but it can be extended, on a month-to-month basis, thereafter. The contract term began on February1, 2017.

We know about the contractual relationship. between Dominica & Mercury, not Because of any public announcement, as we can find none, but because Mercury was required, by US law, to register as a Foreign Agent, and file a copy of its contract with the Commonwealth of Dominica.

The specified tasks that Mercury intends to take on, according to the agreement, include responding to negative news. We have seen no evidence of any spin doctor activity, and therefore ask the question: why spend this kind of money, to confuse Dominicans about the truth of the current situation, regarding the diplomatic passport scandal, when the country is still reeling from the utter damage done to its agriculture, from the last hurricane ? Government assets should go towards rebuilding, and fostering economic development, not engaging spin doctors, to hide the truth.

Those illegal diplomatic passports pose a serious danger to the global banking community, for they allow the holder to masquerade as a respected, legitimate diplomat, who could use that cover to commit financial crime, terrorist financing, and yes, billion dollar fraud. That bogus program should be terminated, forthwith.