Back in 2017, when I first heard the information, which came from an individual inside the government of Dominica, I frankly did not believe it, but when a second trusted source confirmed the details, I decided that the story needed to be told, as it now taints the validity of all passports from Dominica, whether presented for identification purposes, or at bank account opening, or at the closing of a real estate transaction. It also represents a clear and present danger of the use of these passports, by designated global terrorist organizations, located in the Middle East.
On January 29, 2016. The Ambassador to Dominica (as well as the other English-speaking countries of the Caribbean), of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mohammed Benjilany, visited Dominica, and met repeatedly with the Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit. On that day, and on a subsequent visit that the Ambassador made to Dominica, he allegedly acquired blank, official Dominica passports, My sources advise that the total number of passports he took possession of could be as high as 10,000, but in any event one must assume that several thousand passports were involved.
For those readers who now assume that the passports were either from the country’s controversial Citizenship by Investment (CBI), or economic passport program, or the more opaque diplomatic passport scheme, it was neither. These are reportedly standard issue Dominican passports, which raises the question of whether the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francine Baron, was involved in what was obviously an illegal transfer of restricted material, in violation of international law.
the only other individuals with sufficient authority to order the release, from secure storage, of this quantity of passports also must now come under scrutiny. They are the Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, and his personal counsel, Attorney Anthony Astaphan. Which one authorized the illegal access and sale of these passports? How much was he or she paid?
The potential impact of what was obviously an illegal sale, for cash, of the national patrimony of Dominica, cannot be underestimated. At least 2000 of these passports are known to have been shipped to Syria, and the presence of ISIS, Al-Qaeda affiliates, and other hardline Islamist groups in the Syrian conflict means that any one, or more, of these terrorist organizations could now be in possession of these passports, through which they could enjoy visa-free travel to the nations of the Commonwealth.
Terrorists could also use these passports to relocate to Dominica, where the hopelessly corrupt government would not be able to bar them from entry, and permanent relocation. After all, they possess legitimate travel documents. The possibility that a radical group could obtain control of Dominica should not be discounted, and they may already have an ally in government. Let us not forget the lessons of Grenada, and Dominica’s Prime Minister has made no secret of his anti-American, pro-Cuban, and pro-Venezuelan politics.
From this point on, international bankers, and immigration arrival inspectors at airports and borders, should verify that the holder of a Dominican passport, actually is a Dominican. Was he born in Dominica, and is that shown on his passport, as well another identification document? Is his racial category consistent with that of native Dominicans? Where and when, and by whom, was this passport issued? Can he answer a simple question about the names of Dominica’s elected officials, past and present?
If a member of a radical organization uses a Dominican passport to commit a terrorist act in the West, perhaps then the global community will step in and engage in regime change, but in the meanwhile, bankers and law enforcement agents must now operate upon the presumption that a Dominican passport is bogus, until and unless you can qualify the holder as a legitimate citizen of the Commonwealth of Dominica.
Iranian-controlled Pilatus Bank CEO held Dominica passport
We have been exploring any illicit connections between the participants in a number of billion dollar Iran sanctions evasion schemes, and the officers and directors of the now-defunct Pilatus Bank of Malta, and have noticed something that takes us in another direction: the Commonwealth of Dominica; And it gets curiouser and curiouser.
Why does Pilatus Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, the Iranian national Hamidreza Ghanbari, hold a Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passport and citizenship from Dominica ? He actually listed his nationality as Dominican when reporting to regulatory agencies. Some of his filings state that he claimed to reside in Malta; in others, he asserted that he lived in Dubai, UAE. Neither says he lives in Iran.
His boss, Pilatus Bank owner Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, acquired several passports from the Federation of St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis; so why didn’t Sadr secure Kittitian passports for his CEO at the same time? What is so important about holding that Dominica CBI passport, we wonder.
Dominica was, of course, the East Caribbean state that sold not only CBI passports, but also diplomatic passports, to Alireza Monfared, who was described in the press as the “Right Hand Man” of sanctions evasion king Babak Zanjani. Zanjani is still facing a death sentence in Iran for his theft of €2bn; Monfared was sentenced to twenty years for his role.
The number of other Iranian nationals holding Dominica CBI passports and diplomatic passports is not known, because Dominica’s Foreign Ministers have deemed that information to be confidential, even withholding it from the elected members of the House of Assembly, the country’s Parliament.
Therefore, we do not know how many Iranians engaged in the oil sanctions evasion scheme are traveling on Dominica passports, whether CBI or diplomatic.
The other major player in the Iran sanctions evasion crew, Reza Zarrab, who has apparently cheated justice for his crimes through extensive cooperation with US law enforcement, operated with both Zanjani and Monfared, and may have implicated Hasheminenejad as a co-conspirator in the laundering of Iranian oil profits diverted by the crew.
The other Iranian link that passes directly through Dominica is the Colombian national, Alex Nain Saab Moran, presently fighting extradition to the United States, where pending Federal criminal charges await him. Saab was literally en route to Iran, where he has a history of shipping over Venezuelan gold, which helped Iran in its global oil sanctions evasion scheme, and were used to acquire dual-purpose goods for Iran’s WMD and ballistic missile programs. Saab had two offshore corporations that he formed in Dominica.
Where does Dominica, its local indigenous, as well as offshore, banks, and its leadership, fit in regarding the sale of Iranian crude oil, and the laundering of illegal profits, as well as the purchase of duel-use goods for sanctioned weapons programs? Perhaps If we knew the names of the Iranian nationals traveling around the globe with Dominica passports, we might be able to find some answers.
The Dominica-Syria scandal
Just when you thought that the Dominica-Syria scandal was as bad as it could be, it just got worse. The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Commonwealth of Dominica and Syria, a designated State Sponsor of Terrorism, and facilitator of Hezbollah, as well as supplier of troops for Russia in the Ukraine invasion, was repudiated by Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who claimed it was unauthorized, and the fault of his country’s UN Ambassador, Loreen Bannis-Roberts.
Skerrit publicly affirmed that his Ministry of Foreign Affairs neither approved of, nor authorized the diplomatic Agreement Bannis-Roberts executed with the Syrians, and that, for that reason, he had accepted her resignation. Dominica’s government then acted as if it was an unfortunate error on their former ambassador’s part. We reported this in our recent article, entitled United Nations Ambassador from Dominica recalled in Aftermath of Global Furor about Relationship with Syria (March 18, 2022).
However, many observers of the Dominica political scene, questioned the accuracy of PM Skerrit’s narrative, as wealthy Syrians and government officials had been purchasing Dominica CBI passports for some time, and an international CBI consultancy had published a glowing report on the new diplomatic recognition of Syria by Dominica, leaving many Dominicans to conclude that it was only reversed due to the global outcry that resulted when the Dominica-Syria accord was made public. They were certain that they did not hear the truth about what really happened.
Subsequently, reliable sources inside Dominica’s opaque political structure have disclosed what was suspected all along: That Skerrit had forced Bannis-Roberts to lie about her role in the diplomatic recognition, and that she was duly authorized and ordered to sign the diplomatic documents. She received what amounted to a bribe, in the amount of two Million US Dollars, according to our inside sources, to literally commit diplomatic suicide, and admit to executing the Syrian documents, stating that she had committed a serious personal error, that it was without governmental authorization, and that she accepted full blame for the incident. What the political fallout will be from this scandal is unknown, but we will be closely following all developments, and reporting them here as they occur.
There has not been any public announcement as to who her replacement will be, but rumors are circulating that he will be a Labor politician who was educated in Cuba, speaks Spanish fluently, and will be a better fit for Dominica’s China-focused foreign affairs platform. Dominica has, in recent years, come under strong influence from the Peoples’ Republic of China, which has made major financial contributions to Dominica’s economy, including supporting and advising the country’s paramilitary police. Its embassy is believed to be an electronic listening post for China to spy upon American military movements in the Caribbean Sea, and within the Continental United States.
Is Iran evading sanctions through Dominica?
Reports from the Commonwealth of Dominica have asserted that a large contingent of Iranian nationals attended the opening of a hotel there that offered investors a Dominica passport and citizenship, under the country’s CBI program. Witnesses claimed that it appeared the Iranian guests were actually partnering in the project, which was constructed by a company that operates out of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). (We are unable to confirm this information, and official sources insist that only one Iranian national was present at the opening.) What’s true about the project?
The hotel, which is classified as luxury, was built to attract wealthy investors, the magnet being that CBI passport, notwithstanding Dominica has a minimal tourist footprint, and whose economy, after a devastating tropical storm and subsequent hurricane, is in tatters. There is no international airport, and visitors must first travel to adjacent counties to gain access. Notwithstanding the situation, a typical lunch at the hotel came to EC$942. (official sources say this was for a six-person lunch, but we believe that food bill is still very high). Government insists that the positive cash flow generated by the CBI program is beneficial to the country, irrespective of the questions about whether there will be increased tourism as the result of hotel construction.
As many as 800 CBI passports are alleged to have been issued to investors in the hotel, and prominent local residents in the Opposition claim that a number of those have been issued to Iranian nationals. Unfortunately, due to government policy, we cannot confirm many Iranians hold Dominica CBI passports (Government says the largest group of CBI investors at that project are Chinese nationals). Given Dominica’s history of association with Iranians engaged in the billion dollar oil-for-gold sanctions evasion scandal ( e.g. Alireza Monfared) the question on the minds of Dominicans is whether any Iranians, holding Dominica CBI passports, which give them visa-free entry to many Western countries, are exploiting them to engage in a new phase of international sanctions evasion. There is no publicly-available information on this issue.
While CBI passport holders from high-risk countries may not be able to open bank accounts once inside Dominica, they are free to employ those passports elsewhere in the developing world, and there are concerns that, once they are established elsewhere, sanctions evaders from countries like Iran. with new identities, will have access to North America and the EU. In that manner, Dominica may be unwittingly facilitating sanctions evasion schemes abroad.
To add to the fears, unconfirmed reports abound of late in Dominica that appear to support previous rumors to the effect that Iranians have been trafficking hard drugs, coming from Southeast Asia, through Dominica. These stories have again surfaced during the ongoing trial, in Iran, of the suspected former Iranian intelligence agent, Alireza Monfared, who together with his conspirators, faces the death penalty for diverting billions of illicit Iranian oil profits to his personal accounts. Is Iran engaged in narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean, to raise money, much as Hezbollah does ? if so, are they using Dominica to achieve their goals ?
There are many questions surfacing, regarding Iran’s influence in poor, and thoroughly corrupt, Dominica, run by a leftist leader for the past two decades, who uses his wealth to remain in power at election time, and who openly associates with regimes in Latin America that are allied with Iran. We wonder when the answers will be forthcoming.
