FILING IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT IN MIAMI EXPOSES MASSIVE CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST ANTIGUA'S PRIME MINISTER, GASTON BROWNE

While the Caribbean has been focused this year on the rampant CBI and CIP corruption in Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Grenada, a filing in a civil action in Federal District Court in Miami, seeking Discovery pursuant to §1782, has reportedly detailed massive corruption on the part of Antigua's Prime Minister, GASTON BROWNE, in a huge number of matters, including CIP and the undue influence of the People's Republic of China in the region, with specific information that should be closely examined by compliance officers at financial institutions in the United States, especially those maintaining correspondent banking accounts with Caribbean banks.

There is an extraordinary amount of what is alleged to be incriminating information against PM Browne in the more than thirty page "Declaration of James T. Hayes, Jr., in Support of Application under 28 USC §1782 to Take Discovery in this District for use in Foreign Proceedings," and it is recommended that compliance officers at all US banks having a present or prior correspondent relationship with any Antiguan financial institution review the complete text of the Declaration, but this information we believe should be shared with our readers at this time.

 Mr. Hayes is a retired official of Federal law enforcement, with decades of field experience, as Special Agent at Border Patrol, Section Chief, and Director at ICE. His sworn statement is based upon an extensive investigation of multiple sources with first-hand information. The underlying case involves allegations of criminal activity in the disputed and allegedly fraudulent sale of a multi-million dollar yacht in an Antiguan proceeding. All figures listed are in US Dollars.

1. Gaston Browne is estimated to hold $700m in assets under his control, mainly through third parties, nominees and frontmen*. 

2. The properties include, but are not limited to: A commercial mall in Broward County, Florida, purchase for $673,000 in cash; the Yacht INTERLUDE II, valued at $250,000; land in JOLLY HARBOUR, Antigua, bought for more than $600,000.

3. Five corporations he controls: National Empowerment Company; Cove Head Development Limited; Cove Head Communications Ltd.; H. Harris Enterprise Company Limited; H. Harris Enterprise.

4. An inside source claims he received €3m from ODEBRECHT in that bribery scandal, involving an Antiguan offshore bank.

5. Owns a large interest in WEST INDIES OIL COMPANY, through Fancy Bridge Limited, with other Antiguan insiders.

6. An illicit relationship with GLOBAL BANK OF COMMERCE, involving the Colombian money launderer ALEX SAAB MORAN, charged with laundering criminal proceeds for Venezuelan government officials and PEPs, through offshore banks in Antigua.

7. Personally profiting from the Antigua Citizenship by Investment (CIP) program, where money launderers, tax evaders, crypto fraudsters, terrorists, sanctions evaders and international criminals have obtained passports through his efforts ( e.g. Mehul Choksi).

8. His facilitation of the creation of China's Special Economic Zone in Antigua, for personal profit.        (this will be the subject of a separate article)

For more details, interested compliance officers are advised to consult PACER to obtain the Declaration, as well as to monitor the unfolding §1782 Discovery proceeding in the Southern District, see In Re: GASTON BROWNE CORRUPTION DISCOVERY APPLICATION, Case No.: 1:25-mc-21129 (SDFL). 

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*NOTE: We will be detailing, and identifying, the involvement of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) linked to Browne in the above-mentioned matters, in a subsequent article. 

RELATED CASE:  In Re: Gaston Browne Corruption Discovery Application, Case No: 1:2025-mc-00098 (SDNY) [Memorandum and Order entered March 17, 2025, granting the Application].

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2025mc00098/638374/14/

(SDFL DOCKET)

FINANCIAL CRIME & COMPLIANCE: AN INSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE

 

 Make sure to attend it on April 6   . https://www.linkedin.com/events/financialcrime-compliance-aform7313253802957004800/theater/

BUYING A SECOND PASSPORT? YOU HAD BETTER GET A QUALIFIED LAWYER, DUE TO INDUSTRY CHAOS, AND CONSULTANTS WITH REAL LEGAL PROBLEMS SEEKING YOUR BUSINESS

The East Caribbean Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) industry, under attack for widespread illegal practices, both on the part of the government agencies charged with operating them, as well as the vendors and sub-agents, presents a veritable legal minefield for investors who want to acquire a second passport, without exposing themselves to unnecessary risks, including the total loss of their investment, should their economic citizenship be cancelled, and their passport revoked.

The blacklisting in Saint Kitts & Nevis, of the Dubai-based consultancy, RIF TRUST, and the subsequent reported arrest of MIMOUN ASSRAOUI, its CEO, should be a signal that one must retain the services of an attorney with experience in  due diligence investigations, as well as the opaque aspects of the CBI/CIP industry itself. The sales staff you encounter, who are not lawyers admitted to practice in the CBI jurisdictions they are offering, are NOT giving you legal advice, and may very well be misrepresenting the value, and indeed threats your prospective purchase could expose you to, unless you are properly advised by counsel.

if you do nothing else in preparation for seeking a safe, and low-risk economic citizenship, by all means secure competent counsel, not affiliated with any industry vendors, to obtain an objective opinion on the feasibility or proceeding to acquire a second passport; Caveat Emptor, please.

MORE DISINFORMATION FROM SAINT KITTS & NEVIS REGARDING CORRUPTION IN ITS CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAM; BELIEVE YOUR EYES, GENTLEMEN

We note that the Saint Kitts Peoples Labour Party (PLP), which is not currently in power, has disputed the authenticity of a photograph of its former Prime Minister, TIMOTHY HARRIS, which showed him receiving a suspicious suitcase from a representative of the Chinese-owned company, CARIBBEAN GALAXY GROUP, in Saint Lucia. You can believe what you are seeing, ladies & gentlemen, as there is actually a video available, confirming that Harris (1) was in Saint Lucia, and (2) received what is obviously a payoff for his participation in the illegal discounted sale of SKN Citizenship by Investment (CBI) pssports, whilst he was in office. Was the entire incriminating video faked? Who can believe that fantasy?

Remember, Harris left office in disgrace, and any attempt at spinning the truth should be recognized for what it is, an effort to cover up the sordid truth about his involvement. As for the PLPs allegations that he was not in Saint Lucia, regular reader of these articles will recall that his trip to SLC was in December, NOT April, as we reported upon this incident at that time. Ignore the disinformation, please. I never said this was from April, only that, at time the original article was published, I received the information the day before the article appeared. It is the PLP AND the Saint Kitts Labour Party whose elected politicians have brought shame and disgrace upon their country, amid verified evidence of money laundering, widespread CBI fraud, and corruption.

SURVEILLANCE CAPTURES FORMER SAINT KITTS PRIME MINISTER TIMOTHY HARRIS ACCEPTING CASH PAYOFF FROM HIS CHINESE MASTERS IN PUBLIC IN SAINT LUCIA

The arrogance of the central figures in the USD$2.5bn dollar Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) fraud, money laundering and corruption scandal on Saint Kitts and Nevis apparently knows no bounds. Here's former Saint Kitts & Nevis Prime Minister TIMOTHY HARRIS, accepting a cash kickback in public, all caught on a surveillance video after he arrived in Saint Lucia, on a flight from Saint Kitts. He was met and greeted at the airport by a representative of CARIBBEAN GALAXY GROUP, and immediately handed a briefcase. The contents of that briefcase I choose not to disclose in this article, but I am sure that our readers have a pretty good idea, given the allegations of corruptions made against Harris.

Harris' then departed with his Galaxy escort; according to Saint Lucia government records, they departed in a vehicle owned by CARIBBEAN GALAXY REAL ESTATE LTD. Given that Harris had a local banking destination on his schedule yesterday, remember that all deposits of US Dollars must transit the American financial structure when being wired abroad, irrespective of their final destination. When the proceeds of crime are sent to a correspondent account in the United States, not only does a violation of the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 occurs,regarding Mr. Harris, but the American bank also incurs liability.

For those who wonder how we were able to obtain this illicit exchange from yesterday, when law enforcement typically never allows their surveillance of targets of a criminal investigation to be released until the trial, law enforcement is not the only party having Mr. Harris under constant surveillance. We obtained the tape from our own source, and it is damning. The world is watching, Mr. Harris; we trust that you have engaged a competent criminal defense attorney in the United States. You will probably need one, sooner rather than later.

I WILL BE LIVE TOMORROW 8:15PM - CARIBBEAN AMERICAN NEWS WITH GARFIELD OLLIVER

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PROMINENT LAWYER GIVES CARELESS LEGAL ADVICE THAT CAUSES INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE TO BE PRODUCED AGAINST HIS CLIENT AND OTHER BAD ACTORS?

This is prominent Saint Lucia lawyer, PETER I. FOSTER, who represents his country's ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party, as well as its Prime Minister PHILIP PIERRE, and Deputy PM ERNEST HILAIRE. When engaged as counsel for the former Prime Minister of Saint Kitts & Nevis, TIMOTHY HARRIS, attorney Foster recommended that he file a Defamation suit against MSR Media & its Director, PHILIPPE MARTINEZ, after Mr. Martinez alleged massive and rampant fraud, money laundering and corruption in the SKN Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) program; it was thereafter brought in High Court in Basseterre, the country's capital, based upon his urging.

What Mr. Foster did not know, because he neglected to conduct legal research, in advance, into all aspects of the advice he gave Harris to bring a Defamation action in an international case against an American citizen and his company, in a Saint Kitts court, were the consequences of that advice. Had he done so diligently, he would have quickly learned that American Federal law allows its citizens, when sued in a foreign jurisdiction, access to Discovery within the United States, under § 1782 and Mr. Martinez' counsel was able to subpoena bank records, involving millions of dollars, reportedly incriminating Harris and a host of other individuals and entities allegedly involved in the criminal conduct their client had publicly reported on in Saint Kitts and Saint Lucia. Bank of America, the leading US correspondent bank for Caribbean CBI accounts, when subpoenaed, at first delivered a large number of incriminating records. Subsequent to the closing of the RICO case, Bank of America in 2025 then released all records of transactions of other CBI countries, because some of the subpoenaed companies did business in Dominica, Saint Lucia and Grenada. Some of that evidence is now understood to be included in a new civil action which our sources say will be filed in the near future.

As a young first-year law student, I was taught early on that an attorney's failure to research legal authorities before taking any action on behalf of a client constitutes gross negligence. I am not qualified to render an opinion as to whether Foster's failure to conduct sufficient research constituted professional negligence, otherwise known as malpractice, for those are questions of fact and issues of Saint Lucian law best handled by a court of competent jurisdiction over such matters, and such an action would fall to the individuals and entities whose American bank records were obtained through subpoena by Mr. Martinez.

The full impact of the release of those massive bank records upon the parties whose accounts were involved, as well as of the CBI/CIP industry itself, have not yet been fully felt, but we believe that the reason it occurred should be told, and so that accountability is assigned. When the complete history of the economic citizenship industry is told, this event will definitely be seen as a major turning point in its development.

We attempted to obtain Mr. Foster's comments in this story, but he has failed to respond to our requests to his office; we even reached out to him at his new residence in Atlanta, as apparently, he has relocated to the United States, but he did not reply to our message there.