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The current estimate is that 200-300 Russian nationals hold Dominica passports, reportedly obtained through the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program, but given that Vladimir Antonov, the offshore bank owner and fraudster had a Dominican diplomatic passport, we must ask the question; how many Russian organized crime figures hold those prized diplomatic passports from Dominica ?
This may be the true reason that the Commonwealth of Dominica flat out refuses to identify its diplomatic passport holders. the Minister for Foreign Affairs excuse for non-disclosure, that diplomacy must be conducted in secret, has no factual basis, because the foreign "diplomats" do no engage in ANY diplomacy, but a lot of international business, which they facilitate through their diplomatic position, which is yet another violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomacy.
If Dominica was to disclose the identities of its dodgy Russian diplomatic passport holders, we might get a glimpse into their money laundering activities in the East Caribbean, including, of course, in Dominica's opaque offshore banks. Russian money laundering in the region, in a year when illegal Russian activities, designed to impact the United States and Europe, in national elections, will receive special attention from law enforcement agencies. Does Dominica really want to become the new center of American law enforcement attention in 2017 ? If it does, look for indictments of Russians, and their Dominican enablers, the seizure of bank accounts, and the resulting total avoidance, by North American tourists, of a country seen to be a nest of vipers.
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst
Contributed by Kenneth Rijock - Financial Crime Consultant
