Philippe Martinez Drops RICO case targeting key Caribbean CBI figures at Florida Court

After making significant noise about allegations, Philippe Martinez – Owner of the MSR Media has now voluntarily withdrawn the RICO lawsuit at the Florida court in the US.

The RICO filed earlier this year had targeted several defendants associated with the Caribbean’s CBI industry including former Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Timothy Harris, Dr Denzil Douglas, Ex CIU Head Les Khan, Saint Lucia CIU’s MC Claude Emmanuel, Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire and Caribbean Galaxy’s Ying Jin among others. 

Dismissed Without Prejudice

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) filed in the US District Court of Florida, Tampa Division has been dismissed “without prejudice”, meaning it can be refiled in the future. 

The notice of dismissal, signed by Lead Council Lisandra Ortiz was filed under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 41 (a) (1) (A) (i) and 41 (a) (1) (B). 

"Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i) and 41(a)(1)(B), Plaintiffs MSR Media SKN Ltd., MSR Hotels & Co. Ltd., MSR Media International LLC, and Philippe Martinez hereby give notice that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed without prejudice. None of the Defendants has filed an answer or motion for summary judgment,” the document dated 12 December, 2024 further noted. 

The abrupt withdrawal follows months of strong public claims by Martinez surrounding the lawsuit. 

Cause of Withdrawal 

Several platforms noted that the lack of promising evidence resulted in the withdrawal of the RICO suit by Philippe Martinez. 

The allegations put forth in the RICO suit were refuted by the defendants. Earlier in November this year, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Terrance Drew also labelled it as an “extortion scheme”. 

St Lucia’s Deputy Prime Minister Speaks 

Ernest Hilaire – Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Lucia talked to the local media following the withdrawal of the RICO Suit. 

He told the media that the withdrawal of the lawsuit comes as a no surprise, adding that the “French expat had no case to begin with”. 

“I am not surprised that Martinez took the course of action to take back his claims, which were all fabricated, baseless and malicious” he said while interacting with a local Saint Lucian news platform.