DONALD TRUMP WILL REIN IN CHINA'S TERRITORIAL AMBITIONS, AS WELL AS CORRUPTION, IN THE CARIBBEAN IN 2025

If you have been following the news this week, regarding President-Elect Trump's appointments in the foreign policy sphere, you have seen his choices for Border Czar and Ambassador to the United Nations, both of whom signal a welcome sea change in American national security policy across the board. Nowhere will such a change be more evident than in the Caribbean and Latin America, where the current administration has pointedly ignored the increasing political, economic and social influence of the Peoples' Republic of China in literally America's vulnerable backdoor. Count on Donald Trump to be the new sheriff in town, in a region of great geopolitical importance to the United States, and to get things done.

For the past four years, the United States has more or less stood idly by, while China has invested billions in the region, with emphasis on the small states of the Caribbean, whose dysfunctional national economies have sorely needed foreign investment, especially in infrastructure. When America's focus has been on trouble spots such as the Middle East, and in Eastern Europe, the Caribbean economies have been languishing, and in need of capital infusion. Enter China, with its Belt & Road Initiative, the construction of massive embassies in countries where there is zero trade with Beijing, and the construction of facilities sorely needed to expand trade and commerce.

 America's absence in providing financial assistance where sorely needed has provided an expanding China, hell bent on becoming a global power, with an opening, which it has exploited, with Caribbean leaders as willing partners, often receiving "financial incentives" ( read: bribes and kickbacks) to come on board and approve China's ambitious plans, which end up placing Chinese companies in the driver's seat, in the local political arena. Local, underpaid and underfed politicians who are bought and paid for will not object, as long as the money keeps coming in, and China is willing to supply it, making them willing accomplices to its plan of domination.

Now, with the advent of the Second Trump Administration, we fully expect to see the Department of State directly exert its powerful influence in the government houses of East Caribbean leaders, and a resurgence  of American law enforcement investigations into the spider web of Chinese Government-controlled private companies that China uses to advance its hidden agenda. China's usurpation of the five agencies that operate Citizenship by Investment economic passport programs in the EC states that offer UK & EU visa-free access will be the first place to start on what will be a massive campaign to rid the region, once and for all, of China's dark and autocratic influence. The corruption and associated money laundering and fraud that has infected and poisoned those programs, with active Chinese supervision, must be rooted out and quashed through indictments, arrests, trials and convictions in US courts, as much of the proceeds of those economic crimes enters the American financial structure, as US dollars, damaging our major banks; This must stop forthwith.

The complete removal of China's influence will require interagency governmental effort on the part of the United States, and the cooperation of a new breed of Caribbean leaders who are immune from bribery, and only seek to benefit the people that they wish to serve. Given that the alternative, allowing the Caribbean to become essentially a Chinese lake, bordering America's soft underbelly, which will only be far more costly to remove in the future, we believe that the new United States Government will act with vigor and resolve, and clean up this threat to our national security. 

HAPPY VETERANS DAY 2024 TO ALL VETERANS WHO SERVED IN AMERICA'S DIFFICULT WARS

ASSASSIN OF LEBANON'S PM RAFIK HARIRI KILLED IN SYRIA IN ISRAELI ATTACK

 

According to Middle East media, SALIM, JAMIL AYYASH, the Hezbollah leader convicted in the assassination of the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, was killed in an Israeli attack on Hezbollah facilities in Syria. Ayyash had a $10m reward on his head from the United States. He was convicted by a tribunal in Lebanon almost twenty years ago but protected by the terrorist organization. 

IS CHINA CLEANING HOUSE IN THE CARIBBEAN, REMOVING PRIOR THREATS TO ITS VALUED CBI/CIP ACTIVITIES?

MP Asot Michael

Financial analysts who are following China's expanding activities in the Caribbean, especially its dominant role in the Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) industry, are examining a recent event, and asking privately whether the People's Republic is behind it, and why. The cold-blooded murder of Antigua Member of Parliament ASOT MICHAEL, who as the former Minister of Investment, was deeply involved in managing the country's CIP program, and having two prior corruption scandals connected to exposure of the sale of blank Antigua passports in his past, was closely associated with the darker aspects of the program, raises far more questions than there are answers about why he was killed. 

The nature of the crime, which has lent itself to questions about whether it was an assassination conducted by a professional, reportedly leaving no clues, and causing Antigua to call in Scotland Yard to solve the puzzle, has raised questions about China's possible role. China maintains an extremely large embassy in Antigua, labeled by locals "The Fortress," due to its size and extensive security apparatus, and has come to dominate all phases of Antiguan life in recent years. A suspect appears to have been conveniently named; whether he is actually guilty, or is being used to satisfy public unrest over the violence we cannot say.

Whether this dark event was caused by a China, concerned about removing all the evidence of prior corruption in the economic citizenship industry in the East Caribbean, in which it has emerged as the principal player, remains an open question, deserving of further inquiry. We trust that the promised Scotland Yard inquiry will shed some light on the subject. In the meanwhile, we intended to keep our antenna focused on any further indications that there are efforts to control the more serious threats to the future of the citizenship by investment industry in the Caribbean.   

 

DOMINICA'S UK VISA-FREE ENTRY PRIVILEGES, REVOKED IN 2023, APPEAR FAR FROM BEING RESTORED IN 2025

The loss of visa-free entry privileges of the Commonwealth of Dominica, which continues, does not appear to be close to being reversed anytime soon. The UK Home Secretary took that action in 2023, stating “Careful consideration of Dominica’s and Vanuatu’s operation of a citizenship by investment scheme has shown clear and evident abuse of the scheme, including the granting of citizenship to individuals known to pose a risk to the UK.”

While Dominica's Prime Minister has publicly inferred that his government is close to achieving the restoration of visa-free entry to his country's passport holders, it seems that there has been no progress on satisfying the requirements of the UK Government, before it can be granted. You will recall that Skerrit stated back in July that the change in British government was the reason for the delay in obtaining approval. Then, in October, at a press conference he failed to supply any details regarding whether any progress had been made, and complained that the 2023 UK decision was "premature," and should not have been made. His promises of eventual restoration of visa-free privileges, to reassure potential investors, have no basis in fact.

If you remember details from his 2023 public statements, Skerrit admitted that there was one major specific requirement Dominica was bound to fulfill, but that it had not been completed. Given the importance the UK attached in 2023 to the national security risk posed by Dominic's Citizenship by Investment program, it is believed that the stumbling block is the large number of Russian CBI passport holders from Dominica, many of who would not otherwise have qualified for UK visas, due to their background. Did the UK insist that those passports be cancelled? We cannot say, but if that is the case, Dominica's historical reluctance to cancel CBI passports for any reason, including criminal activity, may be standing in the way of visa-free entry restoration.

A HEZBOLLAH COCAINE TRAFFICKING OPERATION IN THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS WAS EXPOSED IN THE ANDREW FAHIE CASE, BUT NO CHARGES EVER BROUGHT; WHY?

While the jury verdict, entered in Federal Court in Florida for cocaine trafficking and money laundering, against the former premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), ANDREW FAHIE, received extensive media coverage, both in the United States and in the Caribbean, the origins of the DEA sting case were pointedly ignored, when it came to charging all the co-conspirators identified in the court file. The introduction was made by individuals identified in the court file as Lebanese Hezbollah operatives. Those agents, apparently engaged in drug trafficking for terrorist financing in Tortola, and who stated that they had connections in South Florida and the Middle East, set up the initial meeting with an individual who later pled guilty to being Andrew Fahie's co-defendant, KADEEM MAYNARD, who then brought the BVI Premier in. It is curious indeed to see how quickly the Hezbollah connection was ignored in the case. I don't buy the gratuitous remark questioning the fact that the Lebanese were Hezbollah. How did they have established connections to the BVI cocaine trafficking crew in Tortola?

Court watchers monitoring the Fahie case have long wondered why the Premier never chose to cooperate with American law enforcement, since the evidence against him was extremely strong, including video and audio recordings, and first-hand testimony, especially when he first dropped hints that he had incriminating information involving a number of senior East Caribbean government officials. Did he decline to become a cooperating individual because of his concerns for his safety, due to the fact that he might eventually be called upon to testify against Hezbollah, as part of a Plea Agreement? 

Why weren't those Hezbollah traffickers named as co-defendants for making the initial introductions to corrupt BVI officials? And if Hezbollah was utilizing the BVI to store and transport cocaine destined for the United States, why wasn't this network taken down, all drugs located seized, and arrests made? In fact, when Fahie's attorney objected to the mere reference to Hezbollah in the Pre-Sentence Investigation Report, the Government allowed it to be removed. 

We must conclude that US and possibly also UK law enforcement were engaged in a major joint investigation into the use of the BVI by Hezbollah, and chose at that point not to expose the size and scope of the case, hoping to snare  high-level targets, but if that is the case, Fahie was arrested in April 2022, and two and one-half years later, there have been no news of additional major arrests. During this period of time, how much cocaine have Hezbollah agents moved through the BVI, sending the proceeds of subsequent sales back to the Middle East?  

We have a lot of questions, regarding the mention of a South Florida area of operation for Hezbollah, the logical terminus for the drugs, as well as a convenient venue to launder and transfer the illicit profits for use by a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization. Did a law enforcement agency drop the ball, or are they playing such a long game that terrorist financing itself has taken a back seat to the passive gathering of intelligence?

IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY MONEY LAUNDERING IN REAL-TIME, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT'S INSIDE THE LAUNDRYMAN'S TOOLBOX

I have been teaching money laundering tradecraft for a long time; before 9/11, it was exclusively to law enforcement and the intelligence community, who were the only ones with serious interest in the subject. Since the USA PATRIOT Act, it has been the private sector, principally compliance officers. What I have observed is that without I call Money Laundering Literacy, a thorough knowledge of not only advanced techniques, but the exotic, esoteric and unusual methods in current use, compliance officers are at a distinct disadvantage with their adversaries, and often miss transactions that they should have caught; Allow me to explain why.

What must first be understood is that money laundering, as a craft, is all about Pure Imagination, the ability to create new technologies out of the framework of existing techniques. Laundrymen often actively brainstorm, building new methods never seen before, by taking an effective technique they are familiar with, and tweaking or modifying it, adapting it to new conditions, a new industry, or a new geographic area not known for laundering, ending up with something that compliance officers will only recognize if they are familiar with the original model, that obscure technique used in the past, and but now fading into obscurity, through disuse.

My point is simple; if you aren't sufficiently literate with Money laundering tradecraft, in all its forms, you will never see the new permutation. That is why I have created a three-part program on Advanced Tradecraft, which surveys the obscure and unusual tricks of the trade that laundrymen have used in the past, and continue to employ today. If you don't have Money Laundering Literacy, they will beat you every time. I invite you attend my three-part program, if you are serious about acquiring the ability to catch the laundrymen in the act; The link is:

https://titc.io/kenneth-rijock-the-laundry-man

WAS MURDER OF ANTIGUA MP ASOT MICHAEL CIP-RELATED? GOVERNMENT ASKS FOR SCOTLAND YARD ASSISTANCE IN SOLVING HOMICIDE

The recent murder of ASOT MICHAEL, the Antigua MP considered by many to be the Poster Boy for Caribbean Citizenship by Investment (CIP/CBI) corruption, has caused the Government of Antigua to request that Britain's Scotland Yard conduct the investigation, leading observers to wonder whether his long, dark history of CIP corruption was a factor in his demise, and that local law enforcement therefore cannot be trusted to obtain justice for the victim. As the former Minister with the Investment portfolio, Michael was a key player in the economic citizenship & passport program, which approved citizenships for a number of dodgy individuals involved in fraud, financial crime and money laundering, and who passports remain valid after their arrests and convictions.

As we have previously reported, there were two international incidents involving the discovery of blank Antigua CIP passports, and some experts are saying the homicide has all the hallmarks of a contract hit, and not due to any personal vendetta, or unhappy foreign investor that Michael failed to secure requested "unofficial" government assistance for. Whether CIP corruption is determined to be was a factor we cannot say, but hope that the investigation determines if it was.

TWO CENTURIES LATER, A NEW REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION WILL BE ENFORCING THE MONROE DOCTRINE AGAINST CHINA

Two hundred years ago, US Secretary of State John Quincy Adams promulgated THE MONROE DOCTRINE for President James Monroe, who announced it during a State of the Union Address. It is an American foreign policy principle which holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americans by a foreign power is considered to be a hostile act against the United States. Since that time, the US has taken diplomatic, economic, political and even military, action to enforce that policy, to keep foreign actors out of the Western Hemisphere.

While some American administrations have chosen to rely upon "Soft Power" to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, many others, notably those led by Republican presidents, have taken strong and effective action when they deem it to be in the national interests of the United States, and particularly when national security is at issue. During the first Trump Administration, we note that both US Secretary of State REX TILLERSON and National Security Advisor JOHN BOLTON publicly invoked the Monroe Doctrine, in describing their administration's policy regarding the Americas. We can expect that this new administration's position will be consistent with those previous statements.

The issue has arisen of a potential national security threat from the emerging role of private Chinese companies in the region, regarding whether those entities are outside the policy's scope; the LODGE COROLLARY to the Doctrine prohibits "The occupation of any place in the American Continent by any corporation or association, connected with any other government, which threatens the safety of this government, and which would give such other government practical control of such place for military purposes." It was passed by the United States Senate after a Japanese-controlled company sought to establish sovereignty over Mexico's Baja Peninsula, facts quite similar to the present situation involving China and land it is acquiring, located in Antigua. Other Chinese projects located in Latin America may also be considered by the new American administration to be in violation of the Monroe Doctrine.

What action the United States will take, regarding Antigua, and a number of other ongoing Chinese projects, we cannot say, but the last time America invoked the Doctrine, after a coup had taken place in Grenada, and an airport which would have given the Soviet Union the capability of landing transport aircraft was under construction by the Cuban military, it involved direct action by American forces. When it comes to enforcing the Monroe Doctrine, history tells us that the United States will undertake whatsoever action it deems necessary and proper under the circumstances. We are hopeful for a diplomatic, or at worse an economic, solution to the problem. It is hoped that China will understand this, and govern itself accordingly.

HOW PM GASTON BROWNE, ANTIGUA'S CHEERLEADER FOR CHINA, GAVE IT A SOVEREIGN BASE IN THE CARIBBEAN, TO FULFILL ITS DARK GEOPOLITICAL AMBITIONS IN THE REGION

The Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, GASTON BROWNE, who negotiated away his country's sovereign rights, in granting the Peoples' Republic of China an autonomous enclave, designated a Special Economic Zone, China's first foothold in the Caribbean. The one-sided agreement creating the SEZH, as it has been called, gives China absolute control over customs, immigration, passport issuance, import & export, and all the other attributes of an independent state. Most legal observers have been extremely critical of the details, asking whether the limited financial benefits Antigua has received are sufficient to justify what amounts to the absolute ceding of national territory to a foreign power, without limitation. They point out that there are no restrictions on the use of the SEZH by China for military purposes.

When American media questioned the wisdom of the arrangement, Browne vigorously responded, publicly claiming that China's intentions were solely benevolent, were not sinister or dangerous, and were in the bests interests of Antigua. He also stated that the United States had ceased, in recent years, to be "generous and helpful" in assisting in the economic development of its Caribbean neighbors, while China was making a large financial contribution, especially in the granting of loans. Those loans must be repaid, and given Antigua's poorly performing, even dysfunctional, economy, there are concerns that in eventual default, China will be able to exert undue influence upon Antigua, especially in its foreign policy.

Finally, given Antigua's abysmal record on official corruption since its independence in 1981, we question what illegal compensation, meaning bribes and kickbacks, were delivered to government officials to secure the agreement with a Chinese-owned entity that is suspected of being under PRC control. What illicit benefits did Browne, and other cabinet officials receive and derive from his approval of the special economic zone contract?

The rampant corruption that infect the country was painfully brought to the attention of Antiguans with the murder of Member of Parliament ASOT MICHAEL, formerly a close protege' of Browne, and who has been accused of corruption, going back many years. We cannot believe that the country's Prime Minister became a vocal proponent for the SEZH purely for the benefit of his constituents, and call for an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the negotiation and execution of the agreement. There is something very wrong here, and the people of Antigua & Barbuda deserve the truth, no matter how painful it is to hear.

The Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, GASTON BROWNE, who negotiated away his country's sovereign rights, granted the Peoples' Republic of China an autonomous enclave, designated a Special Economic Zone, China's first foothold in the Caribbean. The one-sided agreement creating the SEZH, as it has been called, gives China absolute control over customs, immigration, passport issuance, import & export, and all the other attributes of an independent state. Most legal observers have been extremely critical of the details, asking whether the limited financial benefits Antigua has received are sufficient to justify what amounts to the absolute ceding of national territory to a foreign power, without limitation. They point out that there are no restrictions on the use of the SEZH by China for military purposes.

When American media questioned the wisdom of the arrangement, Browne vigorously responded, publicly claiming that China's intentions were solely benevolent, were not sinister or dangerous, and were in the bests interests of Antigua. He also stated that the United States had ceased, in recent years, to be "generous and helpful" in assisting in the economic development of its Caribbean neighbors, while China was making a large financial contribution, especially in the granting of loans. Those loans must be repaid, and given Antigua's poorly performing, even dysfunctional, economy, there are concerns that in eventual default, China will be able to exert undue influence upon Antigua, especially in its foreign policy.

Finally, given Antigua's abysmal record on official corruption since its independence in 1981, we question what illegal compensation, meaning bribes and kickbacks, were delivered to government officials to secure the agreement with a Chinese-owned entity that is suspected of being under PRC control. What illicit benefits did Browne, and other cabinet officials receive and derive from his approval of the special economic zone contract?

The rampant corruption that infect the country was painfully brought to the attention of Antiguans with the murder of Member of Parliament ASOT MICHAEL, formerly a close protege' of Browne, and who has been accused of corruption, going back many years. We cannot believe that the country's Prime Minister became a vocal proponent for the SEZH purely for the benefit of his constituents, and call for an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the negotiation and execution of the agreement. There is something very wrong here, and the people of Antigua & Barbuda deserve the truth, no matter how painful it is to hear.

Surely, the election of Donald Trump will have consequences for China in the Caribbean and Latin America, regarding newly-focused American attention on the region.

CHINA'S ANTIGUA & BARBUDA SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE POSES AN EMERGING THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES

We hope you were paying attention during your Asian History class at the university, but in case you were dozing off, here is what you should have learned. After the First Opium War, China signed the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, which transferred sovereignty of most of Hong Kong to Great Britain, where it would remain until 1999. Now, in 2024, China and Antigua & Barbuda have effectively turned history on its head, by creating a 1600 acre enclave from Antigua's undeveloped nature preserve, as a special economic zone, or SEZH, administered by Special Economic Zone ( Antigua & Barbuda) Holdings Ltd, as a reverse Hong Kong in America's backyard. China has a very painful memory of how it was exploited by Western Powers, and it has now found a way to pay back the favor.

The new entity has all the trappings of sovereignty that the old Hong Kong possessed; it apparently is already issuing identity cards, if you check the website; it can issue passports, will have its own banks, as part and parcel of its offshore financial center; its own airline (ABSEZ INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES LTD); its own deepwater port facility; its own heavy industries for manufacturing; and everything a national entity needs to thrive, and exert economic, social and political influence on the other states of the East Caribbean.

What is the potential impact upon the United States, you ask? Unfortunately, we can only see the tip of the Chinese iceberg at this point, but the possibilities are dire. China will quickly come to dominate both commerce, as well as politics in the region, which is marked by marginal local economies easily manipulated by the lure of china's billions on hand available to lend to countries that can ill afford to every pay it back, making the East Caribbean vassal states to the Peoples' Republic.

And regarding financial crime, the setup is a fraudsters' and money launderers' dream. Financial institutions outside Western regulatory control, but operating locally, with nearby Cuba and Venezuela as able facilitators. The ability to fly in cash and financial instruments outside any oversight or recordkeeping requirements. Ready access to Antigua's financial structure, which offers access to correspondent accounts at American banks. We have already seen Chinese companies dominating regional CBI/CIP programs took a reported USD$2.5bn back to China, in the Caribbean Galaxy scandal. With a controlled local financial structure, there will be no ceiling on China's ambitions, including in the use of financial crime to amass profits. 

The national security consequences of a fully operational Chinese A & B Special Economic Zone to the United States are a nightmare come true. Unless and until immediate remedial action is taken to blunt the future of this enclave, it is feared that it will become an untenable situation ultimately leading to a direct conflict between the US and China in which there will be no winners, regardless of the outcome. Whether the United States has the skills, and the political strength, to avoid this, and still solve the problem, only time will tell, and history will be watching.

DISTRICT COURT IN NEW YORK ORDERS TWO U.S. BANKS TO TURN OVER ACCOUNTS OF CHINESE COMPANY CARIBBEAN GALAXY AND POLITICALLY EXPOSED PERSONS

A United States Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has entered a REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION granting a §1782 Application to Conduct Discovery for Use in Foreign Proceedings, as to STANDARD CHARTERED BANK and BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, regarding the Chinese company, CARIBBEAN GALAXY and TIMOTHY HARRIS, ex SKN Prime Minister. Readers who have been following the developments in Saint Kitts & Nevis will recall that another Federal Court, the Southern District of Florida, has previously entered a similar order permitting Discovery regarding bank accounts, for defensive use in Defamation cases pending in that Caribbean state.  See In Re: Application for Authorization to Conduct Discovery for Use in Foreign Proceedings, et al, Case No.: 24-CV-20492-RKA  (SDFL 2024). 

In the instant case, the Court, after first determining that the movant met the statutory requirements, went on to find that the banks from whom Discovery was being sought were not parties to the underlying foreign proceeding, that the foreign tribunal would be receptive to the evidence, and that the request was not duly intrusive nor burdensome, granting the Application on November 1, 2024, in a nineteen-page Report supported by extensive citations to relevant case law.  The judge also recommended that a protective order, preventing the  applicants from using the Discovery obtained, "was not proper, " as any intended use in another forum, such as the Florida RICO  case, could be dealt with by the Middle District at that time.

From a purely compliance viewpoint, we question whether sufficient transaction monitoring occurred, regarding of the Chinese-owned company, CARIBBEAN GALAXY,  former Saint Kitts Prime Minister TIMOTHY  HARRIS, and other individuals, all of whom are, by definition, High-Risk and/or Politically Exposed Persons (PEPS). Some of these accounts reportedly transferred extremely large amounts of US Dollars to and from China and the Caribbean, involving Citizenship by Investment (CBI) applications, upon which Standard Chartered and BNY Mellon compliance officers would have been unable to confirm had been previously subject to Source of Funds and Source of Wealth of inquiries, regarding the Applicants' wire transfers. Were any Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS) filed, and if so, how did US regulatory agencies and law enforcement allow these high-risk transactions to transit the US financial structure for years, without subjecting them to enforcement action? The Discovery which will now be obtained in this proceeding may answer some of those questions.

PROJECT 2025 MEANS THE END OF FINCEN, AND A RETURN TO THE DARK DAYS OF "MIAMI VICE" MONEY LAUNDERING

If you are a compliance officer, there's really no choice regarding whom you will be voting for tomorrow; the Republican PROJECT 2025 White Paper leaves us with the abolition of the Financial Crime Enforcement Network, FinCEN, termination of experienced public servants with AML/CFT experience, and a resulting exponential increase in money laundering and financial crime.

Unless you were not paying attention, during the last Republican Administration, big GOP campaign donors who should have been indicted by SDNY for money laundering, FCPA violations, and corruption, were ignored for obviously political reasons. I do not want to see that again, nor do any of the other compliance professionals.

Miami's leaders have been trying to turn the page from the dark days of Miami Vice for decades; they do not want to go back. Vote, please, so it doesn't happen again. Be on the right side of history.

FEDERAL PROSECUTORS' DEMANDED A LIFE SENTENCE FOR BVI PREMIER ANDREW ANDREW FAHIE; DOES IT CONFIRM A NEW ZERO TOLERANCE ATTITUDE TOWARDS CARIBBEAN CORRUPTION?

The position of the American Federal criminal justice system towards Caribbean government officials who engage in corruption appears to have hardened, if we take a close look at the recent sentencing of former British Virgin Islands Premier ANDREW FAHIE, convicted in a sting operation that saw him found guilty by a jury of money laundering and facilitating cocaine trafficking. While Fahie received a sentence of 135 months in Federal Prison, the court file reveals that the US Department of Justice sought a far more serious sentence; Life in Prison without the possibility of Parole.

After the United States Probation Office (USPO) filed its Presentence Investigation Report, the   GOVERNMENT’S OBJECTIONS TO THE PRESENTENCE INVESTIGATION REPORT AND RESPONSE TO DEFENDANT’S OBJECTIONS TO THE PSI, a detailed thirteen page reply was filed. The Objections included a multiple Level Enhancement, asserting that Fahie was a Leader/Organizer, according to the US Sentencing Guidelines, and concluded for a number of additional factors, that the defendant's Offense Level therefore should be 43, the highest possible score on the Sentencing Table. 

To quote the Objection: "The draft PSI correctly identifies §§ 2D1.1(a)(5), (c)(1) as the proper sections for calculating the defendant’s base offense level. Paragraph 23 of the draft PSI correctly identifies a base offense level of 38 based on the offense involving more than 450 kilograms of cocaine. As discussed in Part I(C) above, the defendant should also be assessed a 4-level aggravating role increase, a 2-level abuse of trust increase, and the 2-level zero-point offender reduction should be removed, resulting in a total offense level of 43." That results in a Sentence of Life Imprisonment.

For the benefit of readers not familiar with the Sentence Reform Act of 1986, Parole has been effectively abolished in Federal sentencing, and there is no statutory Gain Time for Life Sentences, with the result that Federal defendants sentenced to Life will die in prison. The fact that the Department of Justice sought a Life Sentence for Andrew Fahie, although no cocaine actually changed hands, and all the money involved was produced by US law enforcement is a clear indication that the rampant and systemic corruption that pervades the conduct of many Caribbean government officials, at the highest level, has captured the attention of the DOJ. 

Defendant Fahie has filed a Notice of Appeal of both the Conviction and the Sentence to the Eleventh Circuit, and an appellate attorney has been duly appointed to represent him, so in theory the story is not yet over, although appellate courts are generally loathe to overturn jury verdicts. On a broader note though, is the case is sign of the shape of things to come, in any future sentencing of East Caribbean government officials for Corruption in American courts? We believe it definitely is; perhaps deterrence, as the Lodestar for sentencing, has been finally recognized as ineffective when its comes to corrupt foreign leaders who believe themselves to be omnipotent due to national sovereignty Whatever the reason, expect stiff sentences down the road for chronic corrupters.