Fanciful Accusations Against Dominica: 22 September, 23 September, what's on for 24 September?

The Commonwealth of Dominica runs one of the world’s most successful citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes – sustained by a rigorous system of due diligence checks and an efficient ‘Citizenship by Investment Unit’ trained in document review, anti-money laundering, and anti-terrorist financing.

Despite this pedigree of excellence, unsubstantiated reports of mismanagement and corruption have emerged on Weeklyblitz.net – an online media source infamous for its highly-politicised content.

Weeklyblitz’s first report, dating to 22 September, claims Dominica awarded citizenship to Dawood Ibrahim, a drug trafficker of Indian origin. The allegation is, however, worn out – having first surfaced eight years ago and having been forcefully denied by the Government. In November 2011, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said his Government had investigated the matter extensively with Interpol, which had found no link between Ibrahim and Dominica. Internal searches by Dominica’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and police returned the same verdict: Ibrahim had never applied for, nor been granted, a Dominican citizenship or passport.

Weeklyblitz’s first report also suggests that Ibrahim established a connection to the Prime Minister of Dominica by hiring Anthony Astaphan – a Senior Counsel and the former President of the Bar Association of Dominica – as his legal advisor. The suggestion remains unsubstantiated. It is also worth noting that the report’s author, a ‘Vijaya Laxmi Tripura,’ cannot be contacted or found.

Notably, the allegation was believed by – and originated with, the Dominica United Workers Party – then, as now, in opposition. Thomson Fontaine, a member of the party, made the accusation, which Lennox Linton, the leader of the opposition, said was based on a ‘tip-off.’ No other evidence was ever provided.

On 23 September, Weeklyblitz.net reported that the Government of Dominica had issued “as many as 10,000 passports” to a Moroccan official. These passports, according to the report, were “blank, official Dominica passports” that were neither from Dominica’s “Citizenship by Investment (CBI), or economic passport program, [nor] the opaquer diplomatic passport scheme,” but “standard issue Dominican passports.” The writer, self-evidently, not only has complete disregard for the importance of verifying claims, but also completely fails to understand how CBI and passport issuance work.

First, CBI passports are ‘standard’ ordinary passports – exactly like the ones issued to any other citizen of Dominica. Obtaining a CBI passport however, is no simple feat. To become Dominican citizens, investors must pass rigorous due diligence, involving third party, independent firms that specialise in background checks on individuals and companies. Investor names are checked against Interpol records, as well as those of other international and regional law enforcement agencies. Sanctions lists and wanted lists are reviewed, and political exposure is also analysed. Police certificates, employment and business history, and family ties are all verified, including when family members are not added as dependants in an application.

Second, there is no Dominican diplomatic passport scheme. Diplomatic passports are issued to Dominican officials and representatives only, as they are in any other country across the globe.

Third, all passports have numbers that are, in the normal course of events, registered in line with the identity of the passport’s owner. There is no such thing as an entirely ‘blank passport.’ A record of stolen or lost travel documents – including ‘blank passports’ – is kept by Interpol and available for scrutiny.

The allegation that 10,000 passports were given to Morocco – outlandish in its own right – is however not enough for the author of the 23 September report (‘Anita Mathur’ – another writer whose identity cannot be established). The report goes on to state that members of Islamic State in Syria, Al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah all obtained Dominican passports from Dominica’s Prime Minister. Weeklyblitz.net seems confident that anyone – so long as they are associated with terrorism – can obtain a Dominican passport.

Weeklyblitz.net’s editor – presumably the man responsible for creative articles such as the ones mentioned here, is Bangladeshi Salah Choudhury. Ironically, Choudhury himself has a long history of accusations involving violence, terrorism, and fraud, among other things. Indeed, while India would be wasting its time searching for a nexus between Dawood Ibrahim and Dominica – it would certainly find it more interesting to learn about Choudhury’s own history and present connections.

Another interesting investigation would be on the motivations behind these two ‘reports.’ Upcoming elections may have something to do with them, as failed attempts at destabilising Dominica’s CBI Programme seem to be a recurring theme in Dominica’s 2019 political landscape. For one, UWP leader, Lennox Linton, tried to assert that CBI funds worth EC$1.2 billion had gone unaccounted for, only to have prominent members of the Government and CBI community accuse him of intellectual incompetence and dishonesty.

Choudhury’s agenda, and the sources of Weeklyblitz.net’s sensationalist reports, are a much more interesting story than the fabricated content of the reports themselves. After all, what could feature next in these reports now that almost all terrorist organisations have been mentioned? Perhaps, on 24 September, we’ll find a report on Dominica funding the Talibans or Al Shabaab.

A reliable source has also confirmed that Choudhury is now subject to an investigation by Interpol along with the Government’s of India and Bangladesh also compelled to investigate him.

We find it worthier to accurately report on Dominica and its CBI Programme.

The Dominica CBI Programme allowed the nation to swiftly recover from Hurricane Maria, a natural disaster that, on 18 September 2017, caused the overnight loss of 226 percent of Dominica’s 2016 GDP. Housing, infrastructure, and social projects all benefited extensively from the Programme, with families receiving new homes, crucial repairs taking place island-wide, and thousands of Dominicans undergoing skill and vocational training. Dominica’s mission to become the world’s first climate-resilient country – something Dominicans, and the international community, have taken to heart – also owes its drive to CBI.