Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit
Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, has denied reports made on an internet blog site that he is being investigated by authorities in the United States in relation to allegations that he sold a diplomatic passport to ex-Dominican diplomat, Alireza Zabahalat Monfared, an Iranian national, who was arrested recently after an international manhunt.
In an address from Greece, where according to the government he is on a working visit, Skerrit described the entire matter as a “treasonous campaign” by members of the opposition and “their allies abroad.”
“For the record, I have not been approached nor have my assistance been sought in any of the matters referred to in this article,” he stated. “I have been assured that I am in no way considered a person of interest or relevance to the sanction evasion case nor any case in Iran against Mr. Monfared.”
The article was written by Kenneth Rijock, a banking lawyer who for ten years became a career money launderer and who eventually became a compliance officer specializing in Enhanced Due Diligence, and a Financial Crime Consultant.
In his article, which spread through social media like a wildfire, Rijock alleged that reliable sources have confirmed that Skerrit was under investigation in the matter by an agency of the United States. He did not name the agency.
“The investigation is said to be into Skerrit’s actions, in facilitating the delivery of a diplomatic passport to a known international sanctions violator, Monfared, who was a part of a massive $400m Iran oil-for-gold sanctions evasion operation, involving his alleged partners, Babak Zanjani, and Reza Zarrab; Zarrab is awaiting trial in US District Court in New York,” Rijock wrote. “Whether Skerrit will later be named as a co-conspirator in the Iran sanctions case cannot be determined at this time, but considering the zeal with which the United States Department of Justice is conducting that case, and given the amount of money the Zarrab organization earned, for selling Iranian oil, in violation of international, and American sanctions, he could face a very, very long prison sentence. Obviously, Skerrit failed to conduct his own due diligence, or he would have learned that Monfared was operating in very dangerous waters, against the worlds (sic) most powerful adversary.”
But in his address, Skerrit trashed the allegations, describing them as “a carefully crafted smear job which pieces together snippets of truths to create a completely false story. ”
“How one can sit and create a link between the regular issuance of a diplomatic passport to an alleged violation of international sanctions is certainly incredible to behold,” he stated.
He noted that if any information is requested from him, he would be willing to assist.
“However, I have no information that would be of any relevance to this matter,” he remarked.
The Prime Minister pointed out that he wishes to assure citizens of Dominica, both at home and abroad, that the entire matter is a treasonous campaign by opposition forces and their allies abroad.
He said such campaign will not succeed and detract the government “from the important work that we have to rebuild this country.”
“My government is firmly resolved to remain focused on improving the lives of the people and creating opportunities for growth and development,” he said. “Last week I visited several of the capital projects underway all over the country and I am very impressed with the pace of work.”
He said his government has a lot of work to do post-Erika to rebuild Dominica and to address the concerns of the ordinary people of the country and detractors cannot withstand the fact that programs are being done efficiently and effectively.
“And this is why they have embarked on this sordid smear campaign to sully the name of Dominica globally,” Skerrit said. “A country that has been ravaged by Tropical Storm Erika where close to 90 percent of our GDP was destroyed.”
He said the campaign is to “undermine the progress that we are making” and “get rid of Roosevelt Skerrit.”
“Citizens and residents of Dominica, we need to take a stand and speak out against this brazen act,” Skerrit stated. “How far will they go to secure and to score cheap political points. If they succeed in destroying the economic lifeblood of the country, to what will we turn? All of the productive sectors are contributing and are being built back home but we cannot and must not destroy what we have now in the hope of finding something better down the road.”
Skerrit appealed to all Dominica saying that their voices must be heard “in condemnation of these politically, barbaric act on the part of the opposition.”
“This is no longer about the political demise of Roosevelt Skerrit,” he said. “This is a calculated, targetted and dishonest attack on Dominica. All right-thinking, nation-loving Dominicans need to take a stance against the antics of (Lennox) Linton and his UWP cohorts and say enough is enough. Stop before it is too late. We have to condemn as a country, as a responsible country, this calculated actions on the part of Linton and his UWP cohorts, all geared towards undermining the economic well-being of Dominica.”