CARIBBEAN COURT ALLOWS YET ANOTHER BOGUS APPEAL BY ANTIGUA'S EX-FSC CHIEF, LEROY KING

 Nearly ten years after the United States requested that Antigua & Barbuda extradite the country's former banking regulator, Leroy King, to face criminal charges, in the massive Stanford International Bank billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Antiguan, and Eastern Caribbean, courts have since allowed bogus filings and appeals, and have intentionally ignored the rule of law, by playing musical chairs with the assigned judges, ignoring the case for months at a time, and in general played football with a case that could ultimately see a convicted King incriminate Antigua's most powerful family.

Three months ago, a definitive ruling was entered against King, and the United States sent representatives, to confer with Antiguan legal officials, but the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court then, and without any established legal authority, allowed King's "dream team" of attorneys to file an appeal, on the same Constitutional grounds that have long ago been dismissed.

This appeal, during which repeated extensions of time, and delays, committed by the Court and the appellant, will take approximately two years, just to get to the point where it is ripe for a decision, which will then mean even more delays, demonstrates that, in the English-speaking East Caribbean, politics trumps the Rule of Law. Leroy King, the only major defendant who has not seen his case go to trial in US District Court in Texas, may never see an American courtroom.

Attorneys for North American and European investors should consider this case, when advising their clients as to the potential risks involved in making significant investments in Antigua, for any legal dispute that arises, between their clients, and Antiguan authorities, or even its citizens, might not be settled, pursuant to the law, but for purely political considerations.    

PANAMA PAPERS LAW FIRM CLOSES MOST OVERSEAS OFFICES

 The Panama law firm of Mossack & Fonseca, exposed by the Panama Papers for its global money laundering activities, and with its name partners under criminal investigation, announced this week that will not be closing its principal office, which is located in Panama City's business district. Partner Jurgen Mossack stated publicly that he would be keeping the office open for business, although the damning evidence, which appeared in the Panama papers, proved that the firm's primary role was to hide assets, and conceal the identities of their clients, many of whom were corrupt PEPs, or tax evaders.

Mossack's 45 overseas offices, which have now been reduced to only six, often operated under misleading or cover names, and the firm may have been guilty of systemic tax evasion in the nations where it first quietly solicited clients, then delivering services to them in Panama.  

Many in Panama are starting to wonder whether the Mossack partners, who performed services for clients specifically designed to conceal assets, and the names of the beneficial owners of corporations, will ever go to trial, because they also formed companies, and opened bank accounts, for many prominent Panamanian businessmen.  

WILL FRAUDSTER PEDRO FORT BE DOMINICA'S ALLEN STANFORD ?

The Spanish fraudster and accomplished Ponzi schemer, Pedro Fort Berbel, whose bogus companies have reportedly left over 40,000 victims in his wake, poorer by €20m, cheerfully operates  his dodgy companies from his Dominica hideaway, immune from the long arm of America and European law enforcement agencies. He prizes his CBI Passport from Dominica, whose present government shields him, and other career criminals, from international justice. We have previously detailed how his acquisition of Dominica citizenship confirmed that greed trumps due diligence, in its CBI program.

Fort reminds us of R Allen Stanford, also a Ponzi schemer. Stanford's fall from grace damaged the stellar reputation of Antigua & Barbuda for years, not to mention the havoc Stanford wreaked upon the country's economy. Whether the publicity surrounding Fort's eventual arrest and trial will focus negative attention upon Dominica, sufficient to affect its trade, international relations, and possible designation as a tax haven, FATF Non-cooperative jurisdiction, OFAC sanctions of individuals or entities, or major de-risking of all its financial institutions, or other financial nightmares is a strong possibility. 

Unless Dominica rids itself of the gangsters who use it as a sanctuary, to evade punishment, and to gleefully commit financial crimes, with the knowing assistance of the present government, a number of dirty local lawyers, and their golden Dominica passport, Dominica may end up with Fort, and others of his ilk, imprisoned, and the country left with a reputation of a jurisdiction to be avoided, not visited.  

    

FINGER POINTING IN DEATH OF CORRUPT CANADIAN DOCTOR IN PANAMA

Dr. Porter in custody in Panama

 
While the Republic of Panama is drowning in a number of major corruption and white-collar scandals, a major human rights violation, which proved fatal, is not receiving the attention it deserves. A Canadian, Dr. Arthur Thomas Porter IV, a hospital administrator accused by anti-corruption prosecutors in Quebec of accepting $22.5m bribe, to facilitate a billion dollar hospital construction contract, died of lung cancer in a small, dirty Panamanian prison cell, when the Government of Panama deliberately denied him life-saving medication and treatment, after which a large portion of his $11m in criminal assets disappeared from his Panamanian corporation bank accounts. Porter had been arrested, due to a pending Canadian extradition request. 

 The Government of Canada also has its share of the blame, in the Porter case, after it reportedly backed off its extradition efforts, thereby failing to have him transferred to Canada, where he could have received adequate medical treatment, but might have blown the whistle on a number of Canada's dark and dirty secrets.

Dr. Porter died in 2015, after two years of confinement in Panama's notorious La Joya Prison. His wife, Pamela, entered a guilty plea in a Proceeds of Crime case in 2014.for her role in the bribery scandal. Some Panama observers have stated that their government deliberately slowed the process of the extradition case, to a halt, by failing to hold hearings, for sole the purpose of stealing the millions in his accounts.

Canadian commentators have asserted that, since Dr. Porter, between 2008 and 2011, the chairman of a government agency that was charged with oversight of Canadian intelligence, the Security Intelligence Review Committee, his personal knowledge of some of his country's most embarrassing  intelligence failures made him a liability, should he decide to expose those secrets at his trial. Porter did drop hints on that subject, during a jailhouse interview that he gave to a journalist.

They also believe that the negative publicity from any Canadian trial, on the corruption charges, would send the wrong message to foreign investors, and therefore not be in Canada's best interests, and for that reason, the senior government leaders were not anxious to see Dr. Porter in the dock.

Therefore, we have Panama's government denying him the medical treatment that he needed to stay alive, and officials from his own country, and Canada, delaying his extradition, allegedly to keep him from making disclosures of classified information damaging to the government. Both governments appear to be at fault in Doctor Porter's unnecessary death, with Panama bearing the greater amount of guilt. I doubt that he was concerned, when changing planes in Panama, about dying in a dingy prison cell, but both countries grossly violated his human rights.I wonder which Panamanians got all of Porter's dirty money ?

WILL TURKISH BANKER AT CENTER OF ZARRAB IRAN OIL SANCTIONS EVASION CASE TAKE A PLEA ?

Mehmet Atilla, in Federal courtroom

 
This week, we noted on this blog that attorneys for a major figure in the Turkish financial world, defendant and deputy Halkbank CEO, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, file defensive motions, including efforts to sever him from the others in the oil sanctions evasion case. Were these motions filed, solely as a negotiating tool, with the ultimate aim being to secure a favorable result, in a plea bargain, and is there another agenda here ?

Reliable Turkish sources claim that Atilla has incurred the wrath of senior officials in the Government of Turkey, and he fears that his life will be in danger, should he ever return to his native country. If he agrees to cooperate with American prosecutors, and provide what is known as Substantial Assistance, meaning he will testify against others, and/or assists the US in securing criminal proceeds, he could secure a charge which will insure a short sentence, with additional provisions, which might further solve his personal safety problem

Once he begins to serve that sentence, his sentence could be quietly reduced further, through a Rule 35 motion; such sentence reductions are rarely, if ever, covered by the media. Finally, the plea agreement could provide for him to be deported to a third country, and not Turkey, where he faces a fatal reception.

This means that, should Atilla enter into a Plea Agreement, that there may be others charged in the Zarrab case; Atilla would also be required to testify against Zarrab, and the other, minor defendants in that case, which could cause them to enter a guilty plea, and thereafter implicate still additional defendants. Do you think certain individuals, in Iran and Turkey, and in the offshore financial centers a/k/a tax havens of the world, are paying attention ?

FUGITIVE SPANISH FRAUDSTER/PONZI SCHEMER PEDRO FORT OPERATES FROM DOMINICA WITH IMPUNITY

Pedro Fort Berbel, a career pyramid/Ponzi schemer, who is reportedly wanted in both Spain and the United States, is cleverly evading justice, while operating his latest crop of fraudulent schemes from the Commonwealth of Dominica. Conveniently shielded by his Dominican CBI passport, and assisted by a local attorney, who efficiently collects Fort's funds from his victims, Ford appears to be invincible. Fort has been leaving his victims in the dust for more than a decade; so why was he issued a CBI passport from Dominica ? Anyone with access to the Internet can see that in two minutes.

 Fort, like the then-fugitive Iranian oil sanctions evader, Alireza Monfared, was also provided with a secure residence in Dominica; it is rumored that he travels quietly in the region, only on private jets, facilitated by a diplomatic passport from Dominica. He even owns an offshore bank, licensed in Dominica, Fort Bank Inc., which advertises bank secrecy and confidentiality for its online clients.


How many career criminals, armed with CBI passports, are operating in Dominica ?         

VIEW AMICUS BRIEF OF FINANCIAL REGULATION SCHOLARS IN ARAB BANK CASE

Readers who have been following the Jesner vs.Arab Bank case into the US Supreme Court, which will decide whether the Alien Tort Act (ATA) can be applied to corporations, in this case financial institutions engaged in terrorist financing, may access the recently filed Amicus Curiae brief, of a group that has designated themselves  as "Financial Regulation Scholars and Former Government Officials. " acting in support of the petitioners-claimants, who assert there should be liability, upon public policy grounds.

The text of the thirty three page brief can be accessed, without charge, here.

ANOTHER MEMBER OF MOSSACK FONSECA LAW FIRM CHARGED IN ECUADORIAN MONEY LAUNDERING CASE

 It is important that you know the names of all of the attorneys at Mossack and Fonseca who engaged in money laundering; a new case has surfaced, involving the laundering of "commisions" by a senior official in Ecuador's  governmental petroleum agency. the Mossack attorney charged with money laundering in a new criminal case has been identified as Mirzilla Inés Tuñón. I did not include her in any prior lists of Mossack lawyers and staff, but compliance officers may want to insure that she is not a signatory of any corporate clients.

FEDERAL JUDGE SETS A FINAL HEARING ON RICARDO MARTINELLI'S EXTRADITION CASE

The US Magistrate Judge in Miami assigned to the Ricardo Martinelli extradition case heard additional testimony today. The Court indicated that it would hold an additional hearing on August  22nd, and then render its final decision. The US Supreme Court denied his emergency petition for Habeus Corpus, which sought his release on bail, earlier this week.

 The former Panamanian president, who has been in custody since he was detained in June, has contested the Panamanian Government's extradition efforts, asserting that there is no factual basis for the charges filed against him in Panama, and that there are a number of procedural ans substantive defenses which the court must examine, before handing down a ruling. They also include immunity, and an allegation, made by counsel, that the extradition documents are defective, and fatally flawed. 

TODAY'S PIRATES OF THE SPANISH MAIN NOW OPERATE OUT OF DOMINICA

There are regular Learjet flights, between Colombia, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Dominica, where the local government pointedly ignores, and probably facilitates,  criminal activities conducted by the business jet's operator. Precisely what is carried on those private jet flights cannot be confirmed, but the previous operator of the aircraft, David Tokoph, had a long and distinguished "career," as an international arms trafficker, and gunrunner, with numerous links to the Central Intelligence Agency, including participating in the Iran-Contra arms scandal. The reason he is no longer flying that aircraft is because he was killed in a crash in 2015. Tokoph is known to have substantial aviation experience in delivering arms and aircraft to Africa, and was a close associate of Viktor Bout, once the world's most prolific arms trafficker.


The present operator of the aircraft, N96GS, a Learjet 35, is alleged to be Samuel Boland, who is a property owner in Dominica, but not a Dominican; he has been linked to an offshore bank. The legal title to the Aircraft is held by Wings Service, a Limited Partnership domiciled in the State of Delaware. Dominicans assert that they know the aircraft cannot enter the United States; as it is US-registered, it may be subject to seizure there. By law, foreign nationals may not own N-registered aircraft.

Eyewitnesses in Dominica report that the Learjet, which has repeatedly overnighted there, is generally unloaded, after dark, using special lighting, as the airfield is not equipped for night operation. Security prevented our sources from a close examination of the aircraft.

Is this aircraft flying in bulk cash, or financial instruments ? I cannot say, but the circumstances surrounding the offloading procedures suggest that contraband is being repeatedly smuggled into Dominica. The two source countries, Colombia & Venezuela, which have zero legitimate commerce with Dominica, are known source countries for drug trafficking, corruption of senior government officials, and money laundering.What is on that plane, when it arrives in Dominica ?

HAMAS TERRORIST FINANCING SCHEME OPERATED IN TURKEY

Recent arrests in Israel have exposed a Hamas terrorist financing ring, whose goal it was to place cash in the hands of terrorists, who use it to conduct attacks upon the unarmed civilian population of Israel. The case reminds us that Turkey remains a base for terrorist activity, with the knowledge and consent of the government, notwithstanding its claims that it has deported Hamas leaders, who use the country as a forward operations base against Israel. Hamas is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organization.

Here's how the scheme worked:

(1) Hamas operatives, from the West Bank, traveled to Turkey, ostensibly to purchase goods, allegedly as legitimate businessmen.

(2) In Turkey, the Hamas agents, using cash, purchase  consumer goods, which they then ship to Hebron, in the West Bank, also known as Judea & Samaria.

(3) The goods are sold, and the cash proceeds delivered to Hamas terrorists, to perform terrorist acts.

This case demonstrates just how difficult it is to interdict terrorist financing, on a real-time basis.

US SUPREME COURT DENIES RICARDO MARTINELLI'S HABEUS PETITION

 The United States Supreme Court has denied the Emergency Petition for Habeus Corpus, filed by attorneys for former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, who is seeking to be released on bond, while his extradition to face criminal charges in Panama is pending. The Court, speaking through Justice Clarence Thomas, denied his petition, without opinion .

Tomorrow, August 3rd, Martinelli's previously rescheduled hearing will be heard, in US District Court in Miami, which is handling the Republic of Panama extradition request. Martinelli's attorneys must have feared that the Court will extradite their client, as their US Supreme Court filing smacked of a desperate act, with little chance of success. The massive criminal cases pending against Martinelli in Panama, including his illegal surveillance of 100 of the country's powerful leaders and businessmen, which are supported by clear and convincing evidence, and witness testimony, should result in what amounts to a life sentence for the former president. Some sources claim he wants to bond out, in order to flee the United States, and cheat justice, by flying to a country where corruption will guarantee his permanent residency.

PANAMANIAN ATTORNEY WHO FRAMED KOKOREV SEEKS TO EVADE JUSTICE THROUGH EXTORTION

Ismael Gerli, the Panamanian lawyer who is facing ten years in prison, in his native Panama, for fraud and forgery of instruments, is attempting to have the charges dismissed, by extorting the Government of Spain, which is depending upon him to give testimony against Vladimir Kokorev, in a bizarre money laundering investigation that has seen Kokorev, and his family, illegally held in custody for almost two years, allegedly as material witnesses, without any charges being filed.

Powerful Spanish business interests are believed to be behind the case, seeking Kokorev's  assistance in making a corruption case against the president of Equatorial Guinea, so that they can obtain lucrative petroleum contracts from their former colony. Currently, American companies are assisting Equatorial Guinea with the development of the country's petroleum industry. 

Gerli, according to Spanish media, has put pressure on a Chief Inspector of the Spanish Police,  convincing him to tell the government prosecutor, Isabel de la Vega, to have Panamanian authorities to dismiss all the pending charges they have brought against him. Gerli threatened to repudiate all his testimony in the Spanish case, unless Vega succeeds . These threats constitute extortion, according to legal experts familiar with Gerli's Panama case. Gerli's testimony has been judged to not be credible, but Spanish authorities continue to rely upon it, in what has become a human rights case, exposing flaws in the Spanish court system.

Vega has reportedly taken steps to have the Panama charges dismissed, but the prosecutor in charge of that case, who is known to be immune to both political pressure, and efforts to bribe him, has declined. The Panama case against Gerli remains opend and pending.

DOES SIX MONTH DELAY IN SENTENCING OF FIFA BRIBE BANKER MEAN MORE INDICTMENTS ARE COMING ?

The Argentinian banker who disbursed bribes in the FIFA scandal, José Luis Arzuaga, pled guilty to money laundering conspiracy charges  in US District Court* in Brooklyn NY, on June 15, 2017, but records indicate that he will not be sentenced until next January 4, Given the general preparation period for a Pre-Sentence Investigation Report (PSI), there must be more to this story than meets the eye. There was an Information, not an Indictment, filed against him, which is an indication that he is cooperating with the Government.  We are not seeing a multiple-count indictment, which would more accurately depict his role in making the illegal payments.

Arzuaga, in order for the US Attorney's Office to depart below the suggested (but often followed) US Sentencing Guidelines, must provide Substantial Assistance to the United States, meaning either (1) Assist in securing criminal proceeds for the Government, or (2) Assist in providing information or evidence that results in the indictment of additional defendants in the FIFA cases. You can therefore, expect to see additional indictments, as his testimony, before one or more Grand Juries, is probable.
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* Case No.: 17-CR-313 (PKC) [EDNY].

TURKISH BANKER IN ZARRAB IRAN OIL SANCTIONS CASE SEEKS TO DISMISS INDICTMENT

 Attorneys for Mehmet Atilla, the Turkish Halkbank executive who has been indicted in the Federal Iran sanction evasions case involving Reza Zarrab, have filed multiple motions on his behalf, seeking dismissal of the charges pending against him These motions speak to both substantive, as well as procedural, issues.

To summarize:
(1) A Motion to Dismiss, based upon the assertion that the Court does not have Subject Matter Jurisdiction over the defendant, as it does not allege his knowing agreement to participate in a scheme involving any US bank.
(2) A Motion to Dismiss, on the grounds that the Indictment does not provide Constitutionally adequate notice of the charges against him, claiming that it does not state, with sufficient particularity, sufficient facts, against this defendant, to support it.
(3) An alternative motion,, alleging that if the Court does not grant the motions, it should sever the defendant's case from this one, against the other defendants, for Misjoinder, as the facts indicate that that Atilla participated, at best, in a separate, unrelated conspiracy. Case law on Misjoinder states that, for Atilla to be properly joined as a defendant in the Zarrab case, the parties must have participated in a common plan or scheme, not just offenses that are the same, or of similar character.

These defensive motions claim that the Government's case, against Mr. Atilla, is fatally defective.The Court has yet to rule upon Atilla's pending motion to be released on bond; material on that issue has not at yet all been filed.