There has been zero press coverage, from Iran, regarding the Iranian "businessman," accused fraudster (and sanctions evader) Alireza Monfared, since he was seized, in the Dominican Republic by Iranian agents, several months ago, and transported to Iran. Monfared allegedly was a partner, with Babak Zanjani, now facing the death penalty, and Reza Zarrab, now facing American justice, but he has not shown up in any Iranian court, nor is there any coverage of his case.
Iran claims the three fraudsters, who moved billions of dollars in internationally-sanctioned Iranian oil, using gold, converted to US Dollars, diverted literally billions of dollars in state profits, to their own control. Unless Zanjani disgorges this sum, the Government of Iran states that he will be executed. The trio used the Malaysian offshore financial center of Labuan, not only to move the money, but to actually harbor oil tankers carrying Iranian crude.
Monfared, who held both Diplomatic, as well as Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passports from the Commonwealth of Dominica,and used his diplomatic passport to evade arrest in Malaysia, was returned to Iran, via a circuitous ( Santo Domingo-Havanda-Moscow-Tehran) route, giving rise to the suspicion that he was actually a rogue intelligence agent of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which did not want the US to take him into custody, or even interview, hence the unusual, and indirect, travel, due to the classified information that he possessed, about Iran.
Whether Monfared was collecting any intelligence, while he resided in Dominica, including whether he had any contact with intelligence officers at the local Embassy of the Peoples' Republic of China, which is unusually large, is not known. There is also no information regarding whether his duties included espionage.
Since his arrest, a Malaysian businessman has accused Monfared of failing to discharge substantial obligations incurred there; he is also accused for failing to follow through on his many verbal promises, to bring needed services to Dominica, in exchange for his diplomatic status. It is rumored that he paid corrupt senior government officials in Dominica $3m for his diplomatic passport, which was belatedly cancelled, after his arrest. the disposition of the $3m is not known; it was not received in the national treasury of Dominica.
The Monfared scandal ignited a firestorm of controversy, over Dominica's issuance of diplomatic passports, to foreign nationals, allegedly for large sums paid covertly. Many of those foreign nationals have since been arrested, in several jurisdictions, and charged with criminal acts.
Iran claims the three fraudsters, who moved billions of dollars in internationally-sanctioned Iranian oil, using gold, converted to US Dollars, diverted literally billions of dollars in state profits, to their own control. Unless Zanjani disgorges this sum, the Government of Iran states that he will be executed. The trio used the Malaysian offshore financial center of Labuan, not only to move the money, but to actually harbor oil tankers carrying Iranian crude.
Monfared, who held both Diplomatic, as well as Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passports from the Commonwealth of Dominica,and used his diplomatic passport to evade arrest in Malaysia, was returned to Iran, via a circuitous ( Santo Domingo-Havanda-Moscow-Tehran) route, giving rise to the suspicion that he was actually a rogue intelligence agent of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which did not want the US to take him into custody, or even interview, hence the unusual, and indirect, travel, due to the classified information that he possessed, about Iran.
Whether Monfared was collecting any intelligence, while he resided in Dominica, including whether he had any contact with intelligence officers at the local Embassy of the Peoples' Republic of China, which is unusually large, is not known. There is also no information regarding whether his duties included espionage.
Since his arrest, a Malaysian businessman has accused Monfared of failing to discharge substantial obligations incurred there; he is also accused for failing to follow through on his many verbal promises, to bring needed services to Dominica, in exchange for his diplomatic status. It is rumored that he paid corrupt senior government officials in Dominica $3m for his diplomatic passport, which was belatedly cancelled, after his arrest. the disposition of the $3m is not known; it was not received in the national treasury of Dominica.
The Monfared scandal ignited a firestorm of controversy, over Dominica's issuance of diplomatic passports, to foreign nationals, allegedly for large sums paid covertly. Many of those foreign nationals have since been arrested, in several jurisdictions, and charged with criminal acts.
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| Dominican diplomatic passport holders arrested worldwide |
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