Notwithstanding that a major civil RICO action has been filed in the United States, against 98 prominent local Bajan attorneys, alleging that they are operating a unified criminal enterprise designed to deprive individuals in Barbados of their lawful inheritance, there has been no press coverage within Barbados of this important case. Reports that local media has been directly warned not to run any stories on the lawsuit, on pain of suffering specific economic consequences, as well as physical harm, are believed to be the reason for this self-censorship of the news. There appears to be a total news blackout within Barbados, although elsewhere in the East Caribbean, the case has been heard on radio programs based elsewhere.
The lawsuit, which names many senior government officials as present or former participants in the illicit scheme, whereby attorneys handling estates for heirs who have no formal education are deprived of valuable real estate parcels, which are then sold to unsuspecting European hotel and resort developers, includes the sitting Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley, as a party defendant, and alleges her involvement.
To date, none of the attorneys, judges, government officials, or retired lawyers have formally appeared in the case, nor have any US lawyers filed notices on their behalf. Whether the defendants intend to default is not known, but there are allegations that they own real estate in Florida, as well as maintain bank accounts there, which is reportedly the grounds for imposing personal jurisdiction upon them. We shall continue to follow and report on all developments as they occur: Stay tuned.
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