ZARRAB'S CODEFENDANT FEARS BEING TARRED WITH HIS CLIENT'S SINS

The Turkish banker, Mehmet Atilla, who is scheduled for a November trial in the Reza Zarrab Iran oil-for-gold sanctions violation case, has filed a Motion In Limine*, seeking to have the Court bar specific trial testimony that he asserts is overly prejudicial, inflammatory or irrelevant. He clearly fears that expert testimony will bury him, along with Zarrab, at trial, and with good cause, for the documentary evidence, and anticipated expert testimony, is damning. The assistance that Atilla, through Halkbank, allegedly provided to Zarrab, to evade international sanctions, appears to be overwhelming.

The experts for the Government will be testifying about these matters:

(1) Sanctions that exist against Iran, and against terrorism.
(2) The Economic ties between Turkey and Iran.
(3)  OFAC Iran-related sanctions.
(4)  International Banking and the settlement of foreign currency transactions.

Atilla also is objecting to the admission of a Zarrab letter referencing "Economic Jihad,' which his counsel alleges should be precluded for use at trial, as overly prejudicial and inflammatory. Curiously, his attorneys assert that he may be the only defendant to appear at trial, which again raises the question of whether Zarrab is entering a plea prior to trial.

 It is doubtful that Atilla will be successful in his quest to sanitize trial testimony, as the experts will most likely be permitted to testify.
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* A motion, made in advance of trial, to obtain a ruling barring certain testimony or evidence, for being so inflammatory, and prejudicial, as to adversely influence the trier of fact, meaning the jury.

AGENTS OF A SECOND COUNTRY ARE INVESTIGATING DOMINICA FOR CRIMINAL ACTS IN THEIR JURISDICTION

Readers who yesterday questioned why I failed to specifically identify what US government agency is investigating certain members of the leadership of Dominica, please remember that I have no wish to be accused of neither Obstruction of Justice nor a violation of the Intelligence Identifies Information Act'; rest assured, though, that the story is true and correct. The source has a long record of accuracy.

I  do want to add some additional information, inasmuch as there are perhaps a few who require a reality check, regarding how much unwanted attention Dominica has drawn from afar, due in large part to its illicit diplomatic passport sales scheme.There is a second country, in addition to the United States, that has recently sent undercover investigators into Dominica to make inquiries. We know that because the Commonwealth has been repeatedly visited by a few foreign nationals who have been spotted by certain sharp-eyed Dominicans, who kindly passed their names on to me. One of those individuals is known to me to be a career investigator, acting in an undercover capacity, on behalf of a specific nation; again, I have no desire to interfere with their tasks, so they shall remain anonymous.

Whether there will be criminal charges filed in that jurisdiction is not known at this time, but it does indicate that there are Persons of Interest under investigation, for violation of criminal statutes.  

PAUL MANAFORT, CHARGED WITH MONEY LAUNDERING, MOVED MONEY THROUGH CYPRUS

The million dollar New York and Virginia purchases, allegedly made by indicted TrumpGate defendant, Paul Manaford, were made with wire transfers that apparently originated in Cyprus. What bank compliance officers allowed these funds to come into the United States, into obvious shell companies, from such a well-known Russian tax haven ?

And Delaware shell companies, like were used in the Riggs Bank case. Just how much compliance malpractice can you take for one day ? There were so many Cyprus & Delaware companies, it looked like a classroom fact pattern. Let us hope that somebody at FinCEN identifies those banks, and names & shames them sufficiently to scare others into red-lining wire transfers when they should.

US LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATION FOCUSES IN ON PM SKERRIT AND ATTORNEY ASTAPHAN

Roosevelt Skerrit

 
According to a reliable source, an overseas office of an American Federal law enforcement agency has been ordered to turn over all information in its possession on Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, and attorney Anthony "Tony" Astaphan, who acts as Skerrit's adviser for the country's diplomatic passport scheme. Readers who might think that the attorney-client privilege applies to any communications between the parties are advised to review Federal case law on the Crime or Fraud Exception to the privilege.

Anthony Astaphan

The requesting agency has not been identified, but is believed to be the Department of Justice.

Dominica has been the subject of international media attention this year, primarily due to controversy over the alleged sale of a large number of Dominica diplomatic passports to a number of Iranians, Chinese, Russians, and other nationals from high-risk countries, some of whom have been arrested, on a variety of charges, in several countries. There are concerns that Dominican passports have been sold to North Korean government agents, after a CNN investigative story disclosed that a Chinese recipient of a Dominican diplomatic passport was acting for a sanctioned state-owned North Korean Bank.

Given the broad reach of US Conspiracy laws, and the extraterritorial application of the money laundering statutes,  Dominica government staff members who are engaged in the production of diplomatic passports for foreign nationals might want to consider consulting with a competent criminal defense attorney.

IS IT NOW THE CARIBBEAN PAPERS ?

Reports that the prominent Bermuda-based law firm, Appleby, was hacked last year, and that the ICIJ, which broke the Panama Papers, will publish the stolen data, have led to speculation that a new scandal this time involving Appleby clients, will further expose rampant client tax evasion, money laundering, and assorted  financial crimes, in the Caribbean tax havens.

Appleby, which acquired a global offshore presence, by merger, and now has offices in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Mauritius, the BVI, the Seychelles, and China, could take a major hit to its sterling reputation, should the leaked documents expose high net-worth individuals who are tax cheats, corrupt government officials, and other suspected criminals. While  the transactions it assisted in are totally legal, the public perception of misconduct appears to have fatally damaged Mossack's reputation. What will be the outcome for Appleby ?

The exposure of Mossack & Fonseca's illicit acts, in the Panama Papers, caused a widespread exodus of Mossack attorneys and paralegals, and we shall be monitoring unfolding events, to ascertain whether Appleby will suffer the same human resource flight as Mossack.

Regarding possible guilt, we must now reserve judgment, waiting for the information's release, before commenting upon whether any law firm misconduct has occurred; stay tuned.

DOMINICA FAILS TO DENY THAT IT ISSUED ST KITS PM A DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT

The Prime Minister of St Kitts & Nevis, Timothy Sylvester Harris, has denied holding a diplomatic passport issued by the Commonwealth of Dominica, though a copy has appeared on several Caribbean media websites, but the authenticity of the passport has never been disputed by any senior official in Dominica. In fact, the Government of Dominica has been strangely silent regarding the subject, when the normal response would be to either confirm or deny that the document is genuine, and issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It would take Dominica five minutes to examine & reject the document, and the failure to do so speaks volumes regarding the truth. Check the passport number, please, and respond.

At this point, it might be helpful to remember that the Foreign Minister of Dominica has repeatedly refused to publish a comprehensive list of all the 500+ diplomatic passport holders, claiming that to do so would hinder the abilities of these "diplomats" to perform their functions quietly. The problem is that all the foreign diplomatic passport holders are neither properly qualified, nor certified by any accepting jurisdiction where they ate allegedly posted. In short, these foreign buyers of diplomatic passports are legally unqualified to be regarded as diplomats, as they fail to meet the the terms of the Vienna Convention.

We do not know more than a small amount of the names of these bogus Dominican "diplomats, " as well as CBI documents, but those we do know are Iranians, Chinese, Nigerians, Chinese working for North Korea, and others from high-risk countries. Therefore, until we have a complete and accurate list of those who bought their "diplomatic" and CBI status, compliance officers at North American & EU banks must place all Dominica passports as suspect, and high-risk.

That is patently unfair to Dominicans not engaged in transnational white-collar crime, but a sad reality, and the Dominica "infection," meaning close compliance scrutiny, is liable to spread to the other East Caribbean countries that offer CBI products, and diplomatic passports, under the table, to dodgy and unqualified applicants, without transparency.

FORMER MINISTER ASOT MICHAEL HAD NO DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY WHEN ARRESTED IN THE UK

Former minister under UK criminal investigation

Questions have been raised as to whether the recently cashiered ex-Minister of Tourism of Antigua & Barbuda, Asot Michael, could have avoided arrest and interrogation, when he arrived in the United Kingdom. Some have said that he had diplomatic immunity, but this statement is incorrect and misleading, and has no basis in international law.

 We now know that he was questioned, on the orders of the National Crime Authority, due to an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations that bribes were paid to a government official in the East Caribbean, by a UK national, to secure business. Michael's PR statement, that his arrest was either routine, or an error, was intentional disinformation given to the media.

Michael also allegedly made graphic threats, to senior Antigua officials, after he was relieved by them of his ministerial portfolio, after news of his arrest was made public, and those threats may be actionable as assault under the laws of Antigua & Barbuda; we will be covering that in a subsequent article. His reinstatement as a minister, due to these actions, is doubtful.

On to the issues:

(1) Asot Michael, when  Minister of Tourism, was NOT covered by diplomatic immunity, nor has he ever been, while holding that governmental position. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 specifically limits diplomatic immunity to serving, active duty diplomats, who are then formally certified by their foreign office as such, to a specific country or international body, who are duly accepted by the receiving country, and who perform a mission in that country. There is no blanket diplomatic immunity for ministers of any government in the Vienna protocols,  which all United Nations members are obligated to observe, as UN treaty signatories.

(2) The other type of immunity, known as Head of State Immunity, is expressly limited to those senior individuals who represent the State in international relations. This means the Head of State, Head of Government, and the Foreign Minister. Any other official does not qualify; Readers who wish review the relevant material should consult the United Nations document Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction.  here.

PANAMA'S FUGITIVE FORMER PRESIDENT TRIES TO BUY OFF HIS VICTIMS

Coat of Arms of Panama City

Former president, Ricardo Martinelli, facing more than a dozen criminal cases in his native Panama, has made an eleventh-hour attempt to avoid extradition, by offering to pay large but unspecified sums of money to his victims. The former president's attorneys announced that Martinelli will meet with legal representatives of the victims of his illegal video and audio surveillance in Miami, to negotiate a settlement of the damages they suffered, when the country's national security apparatus illegally captured their private lives. It appears that he rightly fears imminent extradition.

Martinelli has also offered to make a public apology, but there is no mention of the former president serving any prison time for his crimes. He is seeking, literally, to evade justice by offering cash payments, but Panamanian reformers among his victims, who want Martinelli to face justice, and serve a lengthy incarceration, will most likely refuse, knowing he is close to extradition from the United States. Besides, the money he would use to pay them off is the proceeds of crime, and funds stolen from the people of Panama. In truth and in fact, accepting dirty money could constitute money laundering.

WHY WAS ANTIGUA'S TOURISM MINISTER ARRESTED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM ?

Asot Michael, who was removed as Antigua's Minister of Tourism & Investment, after British authorities reportedly arrested him upon arrival in the UK, and subsequently released, has failed to disclose precisely why the Metropolitan Police needed to interview him. His slick public relations-authored press release hinted at his innocence, and even made it seem to be a mistake.

Rest assured, it was anything but routine. British law enforcement does not arrest foreign governmental cabinet officials without just cause. Was it because Minister Michael oversees Antigua's controversial (and often troubled) Citizenship by Investment (economic passport) Program, and there is an ongoing criminal investigation into one or more of the CBI holders ? Or was it because of an investigation into the illegal payment of funds to Antiguan officials, to approve certain investment projects by foreign nationals ? We cannot say at this time.

Most people might immediately question whether UK Customs seized any personal property in the minister's baggage, such as bearer instruments of value, or bulk cash. We cannot form an opinion on this subject, because there has been no information made public, regarding his possessions at arrival.

The most troubling aspect of the minister's very public statement inferred that he had been advised, by some anonymous source, that the police were required to arrest him to interview him. Most international travelers know that, in the event of a query of any sort, airport-based law enforcement staff detain the party, they do not arrest him. The arrest of the minister was no mere friendly talk, it was a predicate to a custodial interrogation, and we surely want to know why. 

MARTINELLI REQUESTS A STAY OF SURRENDER WHILE HIS HABEUS PETITION IS PENDING

Counsel for the former President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, have filed what is captioned Motion to Stay of Surrender pending Appeal, in the Habeus Corpus case filed on September 28, after a US Magistrate Judge ordered Martinelli's extradition, to face criminal charges in Panama.

Unfortunatelty, we are unable to review the details of that motion, because the Court has restricted public access to it, for some unknown reason. We will not have long to wait though, as the response of the US Government defendants, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the Acting Warden of FDC Miami, is due shortly, and Habeus proceedings call for an expedited ruling; Stay tuned.

DENIALS FROM ST KITTS PRIME MINISTER RAISE MORE QUESTIONS THAN THEY ANSWER

The strenuous public denials, made on behalf of the Prime Minister of St Kitts, to the effect that he does not now, nor has he ever had, a diplomatic passport issued by the Commonwealth of Dominica, have raised several questions about Dominica in general:

(1) If the diplomatic passport published on several Caribbean media is bogus, who created it and how did they accomplish this act?  It appears, on its face, to comport with the security features of Dominican identity documents. Was the Opposition party in St Kitts to blame, as has been alleged ?

(2) Was the document actually made in Dominica, by unnamed government staff, and did they use official facilities and technology to do it ?

(3) Why hasn't the Foreign Minister of Dominica confirmed that it is a fake ? Is that because it is genuine ? Check the bloody serial number please, minister, and go public with your findings.

(4) Since Dominica will not list all the 500+ holders of its diplomatic passports, how are we to judge whether it is authentic, or a forgery ?

(5) When will Dominica cancel all the diplomatic passports issued to non-Dominicans, who perform no legitimate diplomatic functions, and are therefore in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations ?

Dominica's illicit issuance of diplomatic passports, to foreign nationals, presents a clear and present danger to international banks, to countries that could be the victims of terrorist financing, or even terrorist acts,  and specifically to the United States & Canada, who are rapidly becoming tired of this game being played in Dominica.

The final question: does Dominica now richly deserve a FinCEN Advisory on its passports, like currently existd against St Kitts ? I believe the answer should be in the affirmative.

LEBANESE ASSASSINS KILLED CRUSADING PANAMA PAPERS JOURNALIST FROM MALTA

Reliable sources in the Middle East have confirmed that the individuals who planted and detonated the car bomb that fatally injured prominent Maltese journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia were from Lebanon. The crime has been compared to a similar incident, in which former Lebanese Prime Minister Raffik Hariri lost his life several years ago in Beirut, which is the subject of an international criminal case, where it is alleged that the perpetrators were agents of Hezbollah. It has not yet been determined who ordered that attack, which experts are calling an act of domestic terrorism.

The family of the murdered journalist, who used the disclosures that first appeared in the Panama Papers to assert that senior members in the government of Malta were engaged in corruption, have asserted that these politicians, together with the CBI consultancy, Henley & Partners, were involved in targeting Galizia, in an effort to silence her persistent anti-corruption campaign.

The family specifically named Henley CEO Chris "Kato" Kalin*, as a conspirator in a plan to file bogus civil suits against Galizia, to bankrupt her, which emails published on the internet purport to show was to be covertly arranged and conducted. The Henley firm is a principal adviser to Malta's controversial Citizenship by Investment program, through which wealthy foreign nationals ultimately receive a Maltese Schengen passport.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has entered the investigation, according to reports published in Malta. The case is believed to be the first instance of a fatal attack upon a journalist related to the Panama Papers scandal.
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* Compliance officers who have observed both the speed and inaccuracy in which due diligence is supposedly performed upon applicants for East Caribbean CBI passports, have taken to referring to CEO Kalin as such, after the character in "Green Hornet," but curiously, the name also belongs to one of the principal witnesses in the OJ Simpson murder trial.

PRINCIPAL OF WAKED MONEY LAUNDERING ORGANIZATION PLEADS GUILTY IN MIAMI FEDERAL COURT

Nidal Abdul Waked Hatum, one of the leaders of Panama's powerful Waked Money Laundering Organization, has entered a plea of guilty, to a single court of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in US District Court in Miami. Waked, a Panamanian national, was extradited from Colombia, and originally charged with four counts.

The defendant has stipulated, in writing, to the facts surrounding his money laundering operation and the tradecraft he employed; the Wakeds moved and cleaned narcotics proceeds for Colombian & Mexican drug cartels, for more than a decade. They used a network of legitimate Panamanian businesses they owned or controlled, to launder the narco-cash.

His Guidelines is stated to be 41-55 months, but a provision states that it will ultimately be 30 months, provided that he makes full disclosure, and there is no provision in his Plea Agreement, requiring him to testify against others. It is believed that his information will greatly assist US law enforcement in the investigation of the narcotics trafficking syndicates his organization served, hence the short sentence, in such a massive case.

WHY DOES THE LEADER OF ST KITTS HOLD A DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT FROM DOMINICA ?

SKN PM Timothy Harris Dominica passport

We recently discussed the uproar caused by the disclosure that the former Prime Minister of St Kitts, Denzil Douglas, not only obtained a diplomatic passport from Dominica, immediately after St Kitts was the subject of a scathing Advisory, issued in 2014 by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), but that Mr. Douglas was listed as a Dominican national. Obviously, powerful Kittitians, when faced with the prospect of detailed inquiry at Customs & Immigration, when they arrived in the United States, used their connections to obtain what are, frankly, illegal diplomatic passports that violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

It has now gotten worse; a well-respected Caribbean media outlet has exposed yet another St Kitts politician holding a Dominica Diplomatic passport, also obtained right after the FinCEN Advisory on St Kitts. This one was issued to Timothy Harris, the sitting Prime Minister of St Kitts, and it also states that the holder is a Dominican national, a misstatement of a material fact. A copy of the document appears above. A spokesman for Dr. Harris has publicly disputed its authenticity, but the document appears to have anti-counterfeiting protection, as well as the enhanced features such an instrument is required to display.

Just how many of the estimated 500 diplomatic passports were handed out to St Kitts government officials, and politicians, by corrupt senior Dominica leaders ?  No wonder the Foreign Minister of Dominica has openly refused to publish the list of Dominica diplomatic passport holders; if the voters of Dominica ever read it, her tenancy in government will come to a swift end, and her arrest will be a foregone conclusion. The illegal passport factory that she commands is a racketeer-influenced criminal enterprise, a cash cow for corrupt politicians.

Denzil Douglas Dominica diplomatic passport

 These passports, which are reportedly sold for obscenely high sums of cash, or for the exchange of other, illegal, favors, are an insult to the United Nations, and pose a clear and present danger of being abused for money laundering and other financial crimes. We trust that compliance officers at the world's international banks take note, and conduct themselves accordingly. 
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* If you take the two passport numbers 0000319 and 0000462, and the issue dates, Dominica issued over 150 new diplomatic passports in one year, between 2014 and 2015. Considering that Dominica only has a few embassies and bona fide diplomatic postings, who has all these prized documents ?

TURKISH BANKER INDICTED IN REZA ZARRAB IRAN SANCTIONS VIOLATIONS CASE STILL MAKING BAD DECISIONS

 Mehmet Atilla, the senior Turkish banker who was late to the party in the Reza Zarrab Iran oil-for-gold sanctions evasion case, presently pending in US District Court in Manhattan, continues to make bad decisions, with the expected outcome. Why isn't he paying attention to the consequences ?

First, he throws in his lot with Zarrab's criminal syndicate, forging and altering banks records, to cover the tracks of a billion dollar oil sanctions evasion operation. Why did the number two man at a major Turkish state-owned bank fail to consult a competent attorney in advance of entering into that sordid conspiracy ? If he had, he would have learned that being a foreign national, and conducting sanctions evasions totally outside the United States, does not save you from indictment.

Second, after seeing the primary defendant, his client, Reza Zarrab, make the fatal mistake of entering the United  States, for tourism of all things, when he knew or should have known he was exposed to being charged in America, given his extraordinary Iran-to-Turkey oil-for-gold operation, why on earth did Atilla voluntarily enter the US, on business ?

Finally, in the motion to dismiss his indictment, his attorneys chose to file the same legal arguments also advanced by Zarrab's counsel, and which failed. How can they prevail ?

Unless Mr. Atilla now makes the only intelligent decision left to him, to enter a plea, cooperate with the authorities, and end up with a sentence that he, and his family, can live with, he will face the full brunt of the steamroller that is the American criminal justice system when it targets a major violation.  I suggest he change his tactics, forthwith.