Thursday, May 24, 2018

ANTIGUA MINISTER OF INVESTMENTS ASOT MICHAEL KNEW VIRDEE'S PARTNER WAS CONVICTED FRAUDSTER, BUT HID HIM FROM CABINET

THE GOVERNMENT OF ANTIGUA "HEARS NOTHING; SEES NOTHING & SPEAKS ONLY LIES & BULLSHIT"

Asot Michael, while Minister of Investment in Antigua, deliberately and intentionally hid from the Cabinet the fact that Peter Virdee's partner in PV Energy Ltd, Hans Dieter Trutschler, had a major criminal conviction on his record. Questions have been raised in Antigua whether this constitutes a criminal act and whether Michael should be charged, to demonstrate to prospective investors that Antigua will not brook this type of conduct from its elected officials.

Trutschler was "convicted of fraud related offences for illegally diverting $4.3m in legitimate payments from one company, from accounts he controlled," according to a United Nations report quoted in media. This occurred in Kosovo in 2002; He was working for the UN at the time, in a senior position.

All this information is publicly available, and Michael, as Investment Minister, and a longtime friend of Virdee, would have known about it, but he failed to give any of this information to his colleagues on the Antigua cabinet, especially due to the fact that Trutschle was sentenced to a prison term of three and one half years imprisonment, under the alias Johanns Dieter Trutschler.
ASOT MICHAEL OF ANTIGUA
Inasmuch as Michael's fellow ministers in the Cabinet were deceived about the true nature of the individuals behind PV Energy, and have to account to the people of Antigua, who elected them, they should consider their own civil action against Michael, for Malfeasance in Office, or another active Tort, if they are not reelected due to Michael's misconduct.


Wednesday, May 23, 2018

PANAMA INTENSIFIES MONEY LAUNDERING INVESTIGATION AGAINST MOSSACK FONSECA

The Second Office of the Prosecutor against Organized Crime reported that it ordered nine search proceedings, nine conductions and ten investigators who have been charged in the investigation being conducted against the Mossack & Fonsecalaw firm.
The accused have been charged with the presumed commission of the crime of money laundering due to the connection of the law firm with the handling of money from illicit origin abroad, specifically Brazil.
Up to this moment, the Public Prosecutor said, it has been possible to locate 8 of the 10 people linked to the crimes. The institution expects that with the support of the security agencies it will be possible to find the whereabouts of the other two defendants in case they were not at home.
The media leaked the names of some of the accused, including Sara Montenegro, Ramsés Owens, Rubén Hernández, Katia Solano, Maribel Robles and Sandra Cornejo.
Yesterday, the prosecutor's office presented Edison Teano, an employee of the law firm, who was in charge of the bank accounts of clients abroad.
The Public Ministry assured that its intention is to comply with the constitutional and legal mandate of prosecution of the crime and reaffirms that this investigation is supported by the international collaboration of the Federal Public Ministry of the Republic of Brazil.
The Public Ministry said that the investigation is not directed against legal professionals or the good practice of this profession. He added that it is the elements gathered in the file that marks the line of investigation.
"We act in accordance with the norm, without distinction of ethnicity, social position or of the profession to which those who act against the law are dedicated," he said.
THE CASE
The investigation could be related to a series of events that the Brazilian Federal Police listed and that show that Mossack Fonseca's office in that country conspired as a criminal organization, with strategies to hide the identity of the beneficiaries of the offshore companies, allowing that were used with impunity.
The office of the Federal Police of Brazil, described in the operation 'Lava Jato', relates the existence of a criminal organization dedicated to the laundering of capital through commercial, financial, real estate and offshore companies, among which Milzart stands out Overseas Holdings, incorporated by Renato de Souza, director of Petrobras services and domiciled in Mossack Fonseca Panama.
Chronicles of Monte Friesner – Financial Crime Analyst  


Tuesday, May 22, 2018

MYSTERIOUS ARRIVAL OF PRIVATE BANKER IN THE CARIBBEAN STATE OF DOMINICA IS NOTICED


Last night, Gabriel Sanz Gonzalez, the CEO of the low-profile offshore private financial institution, Zuma Bank, incorporated in the Commonwealth of Dominica,arrived in-country, on board the Venezuelan business jet YV-2961, which is a Learjet Type 55. The aircraft reportedly came indirectly from the British Virgin Islands, the corporate formation jurisdiction of choice for anyone who wants to obtain a corporation with beneficial ownership information that is totally and permanently opaque.
Sr. Sanz came to Roseau to see Claudius Lestrade, the director of Dominica's Financial Services Unit, which is part of the Ministry of Finance. We are not aware of the subject of his visit. Since its Dominica incorporation in 2015 (though the FSU states it was in 2012), there has been no significant information in the media, detailing Zuma Bank's operations or clientele.

Zuma Bank has no footprint in the global financial industry, though it holds itself out to be a private bank. Many of the Internet websites are in the Russian language, and it is therefore assumed that the bank's marketing is directed towards wealthy Russian nationals. What is in Zuma Bank's book of business and who are its clients? 


The arrival of Sanz is not the only recent arrival of private aircraft that has puzzled Dominicans; on another recent evening, Melville Hall Airport staff were dismissed at the end of the day's aviation operations, notwithstanding information about a late arrival. One member of the airport staff, having seen all the runway and airport lighting extinguished for the night, was driving by the field later that evening when he saw, to his amazement, that all the lights were back on, meaning that a significant arrival was in progress.


What's with all this frenzied activity involving Venezuela of late?  We note that the so-called Bolivarian Republic is now funding hurricane reconstruction, specifically single-family home construction, but given Venezuela's failing economy, is there another reason for this totally unexpected financing?  Remember also that the US has recently sanctioned Venezuelan officials, which might expose local contractors and vendors in Dominica to OFAC violations.

Finally, is Zuma Bank owned by Venezuelan or Russian interests, and who are its clients? We cannot say, but our inquiry into the bank's operations shall continue.  
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst  
Contributed by Kenneth Rijock - Financial Crime Consultant



Monday, May 21, 2018

HEZBOLLAH THREATENS AGAIN TO DESTROY ISRAEL & ISRAEL PROMISES TO DEMOLISH THE BANKING SYSTEM IN LEBANON FOREVER

The perfect storm for armed conflict in Lebanon, due to Hezbollah's new monopoly on political power, in the wake of recent elections there, and other factors, could result in a total disruption of the Beirut banking industry, the country's remaining significant asset.

The additional reasons for concern:

(1) The Trump Administration has just sanctioned the senior Hezbollah leadership, and America's total support of Israel has angered that specially designated global terrorist organization. Bellicose statements from the newly-sanctioned Nasrallah, against the US Embassy opening in Jerusalem, as well as Isreal, has increased.

(2) With the winding down of the anti-ISIS war in Syria, Hezbollah has combat-experienced fighters available to it, and they hold strategic positions close to the northern Israeli border.

(3) Israel's military has increased its readiness in its north, especially in the Golan Heights region. Hezbollah feels it is invincible, due to its Iranian missile inventory.

(4) A leading Israeli politician has bluntly warned that should Hezbollah initiate hostilities; his country will formally declare war on Lebanon, and not limit its response to the area under Hezbollah control, south of the Litani River. If the missiles fall on Israeli population centres, count on a massive aerial response, and since Israel can maintain air superiority, Beirut could end up looking like Berlin in 1945.
If the Beirut banking centre is attacked, even if alternate security arrangement has been carried out in advance, Middle East money will think twice before continuing to patronize the city's banks, and the massive capital flight is a distinct possibility.

This is probably a good time to reduce your risks regarding Lebanon, whether it be financial exposure, outstanding receivables, or pending matters. for war is not just possible, it is fast becoming probable.
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst 
Contributed by Kenneth Rijock - Financial Crime Consultant

Saturday, May 19, 2018

THE FOLLY OF EAST CARIBBEAN ISLANDS THAT SELL CITIZEN BY INVESTMENT PASSPORTS: ALLOWING APPLICANTS TO MAKE PAYMENT IN US DOLLARS

The issues that compliance officers at North American banks, and US & Canadian immigration officers, have with holders of Citizenship by Investment (CBI)passports have been reported in the financial press of late, but there is a more serious problem that the five East Caribbean CBI states are facing: the threat of criminal prosecution, by the US Department of Justice, for violations of money laundering laws by government leaders, notwithstanding that they operate these problems outside the United States.

The problems the EC states have is that US money laundering laws confer what is known as extraterritorial jurisdiction upon foreign nationals, and this is occurring because the Caribbean attorneys who created CBI legislation committed what some legal experts regard as a fatal error: they adopted provisions in their CBI laws that allowed CBI program managers to accept US Dollars (USD$) as payment for their economic citizenships. That has been judged to be a major error. 

Why is this now actually considered legal malpractice? Any attorney drafting legislation in his country should be aware of the possibility that the laws he is creating might increase specific risks in other jurisdictions, and carefully weigh the potential consequences with his client before recommending that they be enacted into law.

In this case, most attorneys in the Caribbean are aware of the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 (18 USC §§1956-1957), which imposes a maximum penalty of twenty years for violations, plus a mega-fine. The lawyers drafting CBI legislation in the East Caribbean failed to research that statute in depth, for if they had they would have learned that it has extraterritorial jurisdiction.

This means that a foreign national could be charged if the US Dollars they accept, for any purpose, are the proceeds of what is referred to Specified Unlawful Activities, and any portion of the transaction has a connection (nexus) with the United States, such as being deposited in a US bank, or transiting the American financial system. The MLCA, which was strengthened by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, will reach out and touch foreign nationals (e.g Reza Zarrab), for acts that they committed totally outside the USA.

Therefore, any dodgy applicant, using criminal proceeds for his cash to purchase that CBI passport, which is later deposited in a dollar account, and ends up passing into, or through, a US financial institution, has implicated not only himself, but the CBI program, and the country's leadership, as well, under US law.

We doubt that the Caribbean attorneys tasked with drafting their local CBI laws even bothered to look at the possible negative consequences of accepting US currency. They probably used the pioneering St Kitts & Nevis CBI program as a template. Unfortunately, that program became law back in 1984, two years before money laundering became a federal crime. Why didn't someone realize that using US Dollars might have consequences?

Should the CBI program directors, and their attorneys, have chosen the Pound Sterling, instead of the US Dollar ?  Probably so, given the extraterritoriality issue, as well as the fact that the USA has very broad conspiracy laws, unlike the UK, which adds to the undesirability of accepting US Dollars, unless you are completely sure of the Source of Funds, and of your applicant's bona fides.

We understand that the leaders of a number of the East Caribbean CBI States are feeling anxious of late; are they feeling a cold chill, perhaps coming from the possibility that the US Department of Justice might be investigating them ?   
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst 
Contributed by Kenneth Rijock - Finanacial Crime Consultant

DENZIL DOUGLAS FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF ST. KITTS LOSES VISA TO US

There has been much talk, in the five East Caribbean states operating a Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program, about reform, especially regarding the need to perform Enhanced Due Diligence upon all applicants, and lookbacks upon all existing CBI passport holders. For those prime ministers in those countries, you only need to look back to see what could happen to your own coveted US visa, should you fail to implement those reforms forthwith.

When the elected leaders of St Kitts & Nevis failed to clean up the many flaws in their CBI program, after a number of official complaints were lodged by the American Secretary of State, John Kerry, the US cancelled the US visa of the then St Kitts Prime Minister, Denzil Douglas. Additionally, FinCEN issued its now notorious Advisory, warning the financial world about US concerns regarding all St Kitts CBI passports. The lesson; there are consequences if you ignore your international compliance responsibilities after you are duly warned by Uncle Sam. Your prime minister might lose the right to shop in Miami or New York, and your voters will quickly tire of their long trips to the US Embassy in Barbados while applying for visas, and of you as their elected leader.

Even after Mr Douglas left office, in 2015, the United States has declined to reissue or reinstate his visa to enter the country, though we know that Douglas has requested his visa, as a private citizen. Also, Canada imposed visa entry requirements for all St Kitts passport holders.

For those CBI jurisdictions who keep repeating that the United States does not impose any sanctions for their continued failure to implement significant reforms, ask Denzil Douglas, who has not been in America for several years, and ask those Kittitian businessmen who must buy goods and equipment in repeated buying trips to the US, and now need submit to the tedious visa application process. We trust this has been instructive to the five sitting prime ministers in the EC CBI states.
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst  
Contributed by Kenneth Rijock - Financial Crime Consultant

Thursday, May 17, 2018

TURKEY DELIBERATELY BREACHED UNITED NATIONS SANCTIONS ON IRAN & SOLD ISRAELI BULT HI TECH ELECTRONICS TO IRAN

Turkey buys, sends Iran electronics manufactured in Jerusalem suitable for nukes: 'If shipment reached Iran, Turkish buyer cheated us.'
The United Nations has launched an investigation against Turkey for allegedly selling electronic equipment to Iran that appears on the list of banned materials for export to the Islamic Republic under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 of 2015, prohibiting transfer to Iran of nuclear-related products and technologies, Ynetand Yediot Ahronot reported. It also asked Israel to open an investigation after it became clear the manufacturer of the electronic equipment sent to Iran via Turkey was none other than an Israeli company based in Jerusalem and considered a large manufacturer of electronic capacitors.
The UAE government, which seized the shipment of electronic equipment from Turkey to Iran in July 2017, led the investigation. In the shipment, UAE security authorities identified electronic capacitors that should not have been transferred to Iran under the UN Security Council resolution.
In a letter sent by the UN Secretariat to Israel, it said the electronic products were manufactured in Israel by a company called Celem Power Capacitors, whose headquarters are based in Jerusalem. The UN Secretariat asked Israel to investigate the matter.
The confiscated shipment contained CSP 180/300 capacitors manufactured by the Israeli company. "We would be grateful if your government would provide relevant information on the matter soon," wrote the UN Secretariat, the body that is supposed to investigate Security Council resolution breaches.
The company is one of the largest in Israel to manufacture electronic capacitors. It said yesterday it had sold a consignment of capacitors to a Turkey company after conducting a reliability check and receiving all the money in advance.
In response, it was reported that the Celem company had no idea that the capacitors would be sent to Iran. "We will prove that we sold it to Turkey, to an orderly company. We don't sell to enemy countries. Most of our sales are to Europe and the US, but Turkey is not an enemy state and there is no reason not to trade with it. In any event, if the shipment actually arrived in Iran, the Turkish buyer cheated us," the company said.
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst 

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

CBC INVESTIGATES - Cash for passports: Canadians play key role in lucrative business


Idyllic beaches such as this one in Antigua and Barbuda are part of pitches made by countries selling passports for cash. But one of the biggest attractions is the visa-free access the passports offer to more than 100 countries. Canada has imposed a visa requirement on passports from Antigua and Barbuda, because of concerns about the country's citizenship by investment program
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The multibillion-dollar trade could threaten national security, Canada, U.S. and EU warn:

Canadians are playing a key role in the lucrative and rapidly growing worldwide business of cash for passports, an industry that Canada, the United States and the European Union have warned could threaten national security, a CBC News investigation reveals.
Industry insiders paint a picture of a multi-million dollar industry that runs in large part through Canada, connecting wealthy individuals from areas like China, Russia and the Middle East to citizenship by investment programs around the world. In return, millions of dollars in commissions are being paid to middlemen  — often Canadians.
Estimates by top industry insiders of just how much the citizenship by investment business is worth each year range from $1 billion to $10 billion.
One of the biggest attractions for potential investors is the visa-free access the passports offer to more than 100 countries, including the European Union. Without that access, citizens of some countries like China or Russia have to go through the paperwork of applying for separate visas for each country they want to visit.
Canadians aren't only involved in promoting the programs — they're also designing and running some of them.
Antigua and Barbuda's program was designed by Don Myatt, a former Canadian federal public servant who worked with Henley and Partners, which designs and markets citizenship by investment programs.
Myatt went on to become the program's first manager. Chisanga Chekwe, a former Ontario deputy minister, was its second.
"One runs into Canadians all of the time," says Kristin Surak, a professor at the SOAS University of London who has been studying the industry for the past two years. 
 
Nuri Katz, founder of Apex Capital Partners, at Jolly Harbour Marina in Antigua. Katz says Canada pioneered citizenship by investment. 'Then other governments saw the success of the Canadian program and wanted to enjoy some of the success themselves.' (Apex Capital Partners)
"Really, the (citizenship by investment) industry was created by the Canadian government," said Nuri Katz, a top player in the industry and founder of Apex Capital Partners. "Then other governments saw the success of the Canadian program and wanted to enjoy some of the success themselves."
"I would say Canada is the grandfather of the industry."
The roots of the industry lie in Canada's former federal business immigration program.
Under that program, someone with a net worth of at least $1.6 million who agreed to make an $800,000 investment in Canada could qualify for permanent resident status.

Canada ended its program in 2014

When Canada shut down the program in 2014, it left a fully trained industry adept at selling immigration investment and public servants used to administering immigration investment programs, as well as a pipeline with thousands of clients from around the world who had applied to Canada's program and whose applications had not yet been processed.
Former immigration minister Chris Alexander said he shut down the program because of concerns about fraud, and the money being invested just contributed to government spending.
Those involved in selling citizenship by investment programs around the world maintain that they simply help cash-strapped countries connect with wealthy investors seeking greater mobility or a safe haven for their families.
They admit that there are some "fly by night" operators attracted by the big money involved. They make veiled suggestions of possible corruption on the part of politicians they refuse to name.
However, they maintain that most reputable people in the industry are careful about who they accept as clients and they say most government officials are doing their best to screen out those who could pose a security risk.

Warnings of criminals and terrorists

Government insiders, however, paint a picture of citizenship for sale programs open to abuse by criminals and potential terrorists. They say some countries aren't taking enough care or asking enough questions about where the money came from before handing over passports that come with visa-free access to more than 100 countries.
In June, those concerns led Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to impose a visa on everyone entering Canada with a passport from Antigua and Barbuda, "to protect the safety and security of Canadians and uphold Canada's commitment to secure the North American perimeter."
In its announcement, the Canadian government said it had been watching the program since it began in 2013. Chisanga Chekwe told Antigua's Daily Observer in August that he got wind of a plan to impose a visa over concerns about candidate vetting when he headed the program in 2016 and was able to convince Canadian authorities not to do it.
Three years earlier, the Canadian government imposed a similar measure on. St Kitts and Nevis, another Caribbean island nation. Alexander, the former immigration minister, said that decision was triggered when an Iranian, whom he described as an "Iranian state representative," showed up at Toronto's Pearson International Airport with a diplomatic passport from St. Kitts and said he had come to meet then prime minister Stephen Harper.
Canada closed its embassy in Iran in 2012 and expelled Iranian diplomats from Canada. Formal diplomatic relations have not yet resumed.
A European Parliament delegation warns that Malta's citizenship by investment program risks 'importing criminals and money laundering into the whole EU.' 
On Dec. 1, a European Parliament delegation led by Ana Gomes raised red flags about Malta's citizenship by investment program, saying there was "great concern" about the sale of Maltese passports to foreigners without disclosing who was buying them. The program, popular with Russians, includes European citizenship and visa-free access to Canada and the U.S.
"This system, with all its opacity, bears the risk of importing criminals and money laundering into the whole EU," Gomes wrote.
The U.S. government has also raised serious concerns about programs offering citizenship for a price. In a written presentation before the U.S Senate armed services committee in March 2015, then General John Kelly listed "cash for passports" programs among the security threats faced by the U.S, saying they "could be exploited by criminals, terrorists or other nefarious actors." Kelly now serves as chief of staff to U.S. President Donald Trump.
In its 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, the U.S. State Department warned Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) could be susceptible to money laundering and other financial crimes.
"The CIP remains among the most lax in the world," officials wrote."The CIU (Citizenship by Investment Unit) does not maintain adequate autonomy from politicians to prevent political interference in its decisions," they later added.
The report also warned about the program in St. Kitts, saying "prior lax vetting created AML (anti-money laundering) and security vulnerabilities domestically and internationally. … The CIP continues to be afflicted by significant deficiencies in vetting candidates and conducting due diligence on passport and citizenship recipients after they receive citizenship." 
Armand Arton, president of Arton Capital, estimates 25,000 people buy a second citizenship each year. (Arton Capital)
Antigua and St. Kitts are just two of countries in the growing business of citizenship for sale.
"There has been an explosion of demand based pretty much on political instability around the world in the last 10 years," said Armand Arton, president of Arton Capital, one of the largest firms matching wealthy investors with second citizenships.
Arton, who grew up in Montreal but now spends much of his time in Dubai, estimates 25,000 people buy a second citizenship each year. He expects that number to double in the next five years as more countries offer programs and the cost of buying citizenship drops.
In most programs, those seeking a second citizenship make an investment in the country, from contributing to a government-run development program to investing in real estate or a local business. After an application is studied and vetted, the investor and their family can become citizens of the country and are issued passports.
The programs can be a goldmine for cash-strapped developing nations, accounting for a substantial portion of their gross domestic product in some cases.
People in the industry say it has also proven to be a goldmine for Canadian immigration consultants, some of whom used to work for the federal government when Canada had its own immigrant investor program.

Canadian addresses dominate in Antigua

In Antigua, for example, 22 per cent of the 127 representatives authorized to market its citizenship by investment program list Canadian addresses — more than any other country.
A review of the program's reports posted online show that 80 per cent of commissions paid by Antigua's program over a year and a half — $2.2 million — went to Montreal-based ClientReferrals.com, a company that connects agents and other professionals with citizenship by investment programs and other investment options.
Corporate filings show one of the principals in Clientreferrals.com is Guy Pilote, a former federal public servant who worked briefly with Don Myatt on Canada's business immigration program. Patrick Peters is listed as president and Lei Li as a director.
'Canada developed this in the '80s and most of the original professionals, like myself, are from Canada.'— Nuri Katz
 Like many involved in the industry, Katz began by working with the Canadian program.
"Canada developed this in the '80s and most of the original professionals, like myself, are from Canada," said Katz, who grew up in Montreal. "We've expanded and created a whole new industry but it's really just an expansion of the Canadian experience."
Arton says Canadians are "proud pioneers" of the industry.
The sales pitches feature idyllic beaches and promises of more mobility. Visa-free travel to more than 100 countries including Europe. Protection for your family from wars or civil unrest. Protection for your wealth — a phrase often synonymous with protection from income taxes.
Many of those snapping up second citizenships come from countries like China or Russia, which have few visa-free travel agreements with other countries, or residents of Middle Eastern and North African countries that are in turmoil.
But some observers are concerned that others could be looking for passports with easy access into North America and Europe for more nefarious reasons. 
Peter Vincent, former homeland security adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, warns of 'international criminals and terrorist organizations that are looking to evade the law.' 
Peter Vincent, who worked as a Homeland Security adviser to former U.S. president Barack Obama, says the U.S. is concerned about a small but potentially "devastating" group exploiting citizenship by immigration programs.
"That is the international criminals and terrorist organizations that are looking to evade the law, prosecutions in their own country or international prosecutions by global tribunals or actually looking to do something horrible and to use a passport that would ordinarily not raise suspicions to travel to commit those crimes or those acts of terrorism."
Naomi Hirst, a campaigner with Global Witness, which works to expose corruption around the world, describes citizenship by investment programs as "a tool in the corruption toolkit."

'Kleptocrats' can be 'brilliantly corrupt'

"One thing that people need when they are kleptocrats and … have been stealing money is kind of a way to get it out of the country. There's actually no point of being brilliantly corrupt if you can't enjoy it."
People like Katz and Arton dismiss the concerns of the Canadian and U.S. governments, saying it would be easier for a would-be terrorist to get into the U.S. on a tourist visa.
Industry officials insist the due diligence is thorough and say they do their best to check the backgrounds of applicants. However, they say that if someone is not yet the subject of an arrest warrant or convicted of a criminal offence, a threat wouldn't necessarily show up in background checks.

Eyebrow-raising citizenships

Despite the checks, there have been several cases of people whose citizenships have raised eyebrows.
Canadian Alexandre Cazes, alleged to be the mastermind behind the dark web site AlphaBay, became an Antiguan citizen in February.
Three Chinese nationals who bought Antiguan citizenship later generated controversy — one over allegations they had lied on their application and two others because they were wanted by Chinese authorities. One of them, Ai Yang, is mentioned in the dossier that informed the Canadian government's decision to impose the visa on Antigua.
Antigua opposition leader Harold Lovell said his United Progressive Party set up the program when it was in office to bolster Antigua's economy. However, he believes there have been serious problems with the way the program has been run by the current government.
For example, Lovell said Antigua tried to market the program in Iraq and invite 4,000 Iraqi families to live in the island nation. 
Canada's decision to impose a visa on Antigua "has set the program back considerably," he said, adding that he thinks the program still has potential.

No comment from Antigua's PM

Prime Minister Gaston Browne's office has not responded to repeated requests from CBC News for an interview.
Arton said the problem with some programs, like those in St. Kitts and Antigua, is that they haven't been doing enough to vet candidates.
The concerns have led to initiatives to clean up the image of the industry such as launching industry associations, and to a variety of recommendations.
Arton, for example, would like to see a common program for Caribbean countries and a database of rejected applicants.
Katz believes those who market citizenship by investment programs should be regulated.
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst  
Contributed by Elizabeth Thompson -