New bribery allegations against Grenada PM
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| Published on Thursday, August 30, 2007 |
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PORTLAND, USA: According to a Sentencing Memorandum filed by the US government in the District Court in Oregon, cash bribes were paid to Grenadian prime minister, Keith Mitchell, and other government officials by the now defunct Grenadian-licensed offshore bank, First International Bank of Grenada (FIBG).
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| Grenada's Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell. AFP PHOTO |
Grenada’s former banking regulator, Michael Creft, testified that FIBG paid bribes to the government of Grenada, and that he personally paid sums of cash to Mitchell and Tony Joseph, described in the Memorandum as the “Treasurer of Grenada.”
The Sentencing Memorandum in question was filed by the US Attorney in a case involving four individuals, Douglas Ferguson, Robert Skirving, Laurent Barnabe, and Rita Regale, who were charged with and pleaded guilty to separate counts of conspiracy to launder money in relation to FIBG.
In what was described by the US government as “a massive Ponzi scheme,” between 1996 and 2000, Ferguson, Skirving, Barnabe, and Regale set up, marketed, and operated a series of offshore “banks,” including FIBG, which defrauded thousands of investors of more than $170 million.
Barnabe was said to have acted as the liaison between FIBG and the government of Grenada, setting up and attending meetings between the two entities. Creft, testified that Barnabe was the conduit for bribes that FIBG paid to the government of Grenada.
FIBG was reportedly the first offshore bank to be licensed and begin operations in Grenada and Creft was the Grenadian government’s chief regulator for offshore banks throughout FIBG’s existence.
He testified in Portland, Oregon, in December 2006, that FIBG never attempted to operate legitimately, but instead corrupted even the minimal regulation which Grenada sought to enforce.
According to the US government, the answer to how FIBG continued in existence over nearly three years, despite never coming into compliance with governing regulations, was simple: money.
Creft testified that his own failure to crack down on FIBG was influenced by the flow of cash that went from FIBG to government officials, including himself. According to him, he received an initial payment of EC$100,000, facilitated by Regale.
Creft said he distributed this money as to $25,000 in cash to Tony Joseph, a member of the Board of the Grenada banking regulatory agency, and $50,000 in cash to Prime Minister Keith Mitchell. He claimed to have used the remainder for paying campaign and political party expenses for Mitchell’s party.
The full Sentencing Memorandum may be accessed on the US Department of Justice website here.
Mitchell is also a defendant, along with his wife, in a civil action filed in New York by a victim of convicted con-man Eric Resteiner, claiming restitution by Mitchell of US$1 million in bribes allegedly paid to him by Resteiner.
This case has been set down for hearing in October. | | | | Reads : 802 | | | |
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