Revealing the Identities of Thousands of Buyers of Dominica's Golden Passport, Including at Least Five Iranians Accused of Violating Sanctions and Economic Corruption

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in collaboration with several media outlets including Radio Zamaneh, has unveiled a list of approximately eight thousand buyers of Dominica's passport, among whom at least five Iranians are accused of circumventing sanctions, being involved in large-scale money laundering, or fraud. This series of reports, which began publishing on Wednesday, October 11, includes profiles of Iranian buyers of the golden passport of the Commonwealth of Dominica. OCCRP and Radio Zamaneh have separately published profiles of five Iranian holders of Dominica's passport, including Alireza Zibahalat Monfared, convicted of embezzling millions of dollars; Hamidreza Ghanbari, a bank CEO in Malta during a money laundering scandal; Hossein Mohammadi, a currency trader accused of circumventing sanctions; Mehdi Ebrahimi Eshratabadi (Tony Newman), wanted on fraud charges; and Ehsan Azarnako, accused of violating sanctions. These profiles, except for Hossein Mohammadi and Ehsan Azarnako, include images of these new Dominican citizens and provide a brief description of their activities, the timing and manner of their passport purchases, and their reactions to the allegations. According to these reports, OCCRP has obtained a list of over 7,700 names, including about 1,400 Iranians, who were able to acquire Dominican citizenship through investment or payment between 2007 and 2019. The reports emphasize that given the start of Dominica's citizenship sale program in 1993, the number of new Dominican citizens from Iran has likely increased to several thousand over the past three decades. One of the investigative reports by Zamaneh and its media partners details Alireza Zibahalat Monfared, a holder of a Dominican diplomatic passport, mentioning three family members who also hold Dominican citizenship. According to the report by Mahtab Diosalar, Alireza Zibahalat Monfared, who started his career driving for a mid-level government official, later collaborated with Babak Zanjani to circumvent international sanctions against Iran. This holder of the Dominican passport was eventually convicted and imprisoned in Iran on charges such as 'networked fraud' and 'breach of trust.' Although OCCRP emphasized that it could not confirm whether he is currently serving his sentence. The names of his family members, Behnaz Najjar Sadeghi (wife) and two children, Mehdi Zibahalat Monfared and Fatemeh Zibahalat Monfared, are mentioned, all of whom purchased Dominican citizenship in 2009. Zamaneh's reports stress that 'among Iranians who have purchased Dominican passports are a number of criminals, former offenders, fraudsters, rent-seekers, families of Islamic Republic officials, bank and tax debtors, and thieves and bribe-takers.' According to Radio Zamaneh's website, 'Dominica's passport, known as the golden passport, not only provides visa-free access to many countries around the world for its buyers but also opens a gateway for money laundering and tax evasion.' The reports indicate that 'three convicted individuals from the petrochemical case, along with their families, one of the accused in the missing oil rig case and his family, several notorious fraudsters, bank debtors, and oil traffickers who helped circumvent sanctions and also engaged in theft' are included in this list. The reports highlight that Iranians from various backgrounds, including a Quranic sciences professor and publisher of religious and revolutionary books, a famous pop singer, a popular novelist, a revolutionary ideological writer, currency exchange owners, doctors, dentists, company managers, board members, and owners of both legitimate and shell companies in sectors such as steel, oil and gas, petrochemicals, drilling, shipping, and heads of local sports federations are among the holders of Dominica's passport. Dominica is an island nation with a population of 72,000 located in the Caribbean Sea, and according to this report, its area is comparable to that of Tehran. In the list obtained by OCCRP of 7,700 buyers of Dominica's citizenship, individuals from over sixty countries across six continents are included. The report indicates that citizens from North African countries, Central Asia, and the Middle East, particularly Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Yemen, are among the main buyers of this passport. According to this series of reports, 'individuals who have purchased Dominica's passports include a former Afghan defense minister accused of human rights violations and a senior scientist of Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program.' According to OCCRP, Asadullah Khalid, a new citizen of Dominica and former Afghan defense minister, was openly accused of systematic human rights violations even while serving as head of Afghanistan's intelligence agency in 2012. A Canadian diplomat and a colleague of this former Afghan official testified in a parliamentary commission in 2009 that Asadullah Khalid, during his governorship of one of Afghanistan's provinces, allegedly oversaw a black site and 'is said to have personally tortured individuals.' Asadullah Khalid has denied these allegations, although journalists and human rights groups have also accused him of involvement in arbitrary detentions, sexual assault, and torture of numerous individuals. Nonetheless, none of these allegations prevented the sale of Dominica's citizenship to the former Afghan defense minister, who successfully purchased a Dominica passport in 2017, years after these allegations were widely reported. According to this report, the number of individuals whose criminal backgrounds did not hinder their acquisition of Dominica's citizenship is not limited to Asadullah Khalid. For example, Jaafar Zia Jaafar, known as the father of Iraq's nuclear program during Saddam Hussein's regime, joined the ranks of new Dominica citizens in 2014. A colonel from Libya and a leader under the former dictator Muammar Gaddafi also managed to obtain a Dominica passport in 2015. These individuals are among thousands who have benefited from Dominica's 'citizenship by investment' program, which allows foreign citizens to purchase the passport of this small country by paying a base price of $100,000. According to OCCRP, citizens, including wealthy individuals from Russia, China, and Iran, are among the largest groups of buyers of Dominica's passport, although some of them are under sanctions due to their involvement in violations or crimes. Among them, two Azerbaijani-Russian billionaires with Dominica citizenship were sanctioned following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The report also mentions government officials, including a former prime minister of Jordan and a former governor of Iraq's central bank, as holders of Dominica's passport. OCCRP emphasizes that although these individuals are not under suspicion of wrongdoing, their political backgrounds and corruption risks necessitate a more thorough examination of any economic activities they undertake, including starting companies or opening bank accounts. Company registration documents show that some buyers of Dominica's passport have used their new citizenship to establish companies worldwide. According to journalists involved in this series of investigative reports, at least thirty buyers of Dominica's passport have been interrogated by authorities shortly after acquiring their new citizenship and have been accused and convicted of crimes. In some cases, they have been recognized as fugitives from the law, escaping criminal investigations or trials in their home countries. According to this report, while Dominica cannot be accused of knowingly selling passports to criminals in such cases, the country's officials have not responded to journalists' inquiries regarding the revocation of their citizenship. The then-representative of Dominica to the United Nations emphasized in an interview in 2016 the need for a thorough examination of the backgrounds of applicants for the country's passport. However, the head of Dominica's 'citizenship by investment' program stated that only two percent of citizenship application cases have received negative responses. The publication of this news has faced criticism from international officials. Sophie in 't Veld, a Dutch member of the European Parliament and an increasing critic of such citizenship programs, believes the purpose of designing 'golden passports and visas' is to attract 'criminals.' She has described such schemes as 'a red carpet for entry into the European Union.' Some experts assess the consequences of the long-term exploitation of this island by other countries as a reason for launching Dominica's citizenship sale program. They believe that the development of this island nation has been hindered after a century of slavery, facing colonization by France and Britain, and ultimately globalization. Therefore, Dominica has turned to selling citizenship to compensate for its public service budget. According to OCCRP, although this action by Dominica is not considered illegal under international law, offering passports to suspicious individuals has tarnished the country's reputation and may have potential consequences. According to the report, Christian Sorac, an expert on golden passports, predicts that major global players, such as the European Union, will likely revoke visa-free access for holders of Dominica's passport, similar to what happened with Vanuatu. Vanuatu, located in the South Pacific, is one of the countries selling golden passports, and the European Union revoked visa-free entry for holders of this country's passport in 2022. Currently, the UK has criticized the 'documented and blatant abuse' of Dominica's citizenship sale program, making entry for holders of this country's passport conditional on obtaining a visa. Roosevelt Skerrit, the prime minister of Dominica, has called this action by the UK 'regrettable' and emphasized that his government has taken 'complementary measures' to strengthen this program. However, according to OCCRP, at least one applicant for Dominica's passport, who was concerned about the review of his background, stated that Dominica's officials did not raise any serious challenges or even questions about it after conducting background checks. The response of Dominica's prime minister to the criticisms has been to accuse critics of the golden passport program of spreading 'fake and mischievous news' aimed at undermining this program. Roosevelt Skerrit has described this program as a major part of his country's economic and social development, stating that the revenue generated from it has been used to build thousands of housing units, improve healthcare services, and strengthen national security in this island nation. However, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project emphasizes that despite the number of buyers of Dominica's citizenship being assessed to exceed the current list of 7,700, reports from journalists indicate the presence of individuals with criminal backgrounds in this list. According to this report, after Roosevelt Skerrit took office as the current prime minister of Dominica, emphasis on this program to address the country's economic and political problems became a priority. Therefore, Roosevelt Skerrit, as the longest-serving prime minister of this country, sought more customers in China after taking power, while simultaneously, Dominica's government officials marketed in Russia and the Middle East. Government statistics indicate the remarkable success and profitability of this program. According to Zamaneh and its media partners' investigative reports, the government of Dominica claims that this scheme, which is one of the largest citizenship by investment programs in the world, generated $1.2 billion for this island between 2017 and 2020 alone. According to this report, some organizations involved in this program have directly engaged in transactions with the prime minister of this country through participation in construction activities; a point that critics believe creates a conflict of interest. The increase in the personal assets of Dominica's prime minister has not gone unnoticed by observers and rival politicians, and speculations have arisen regarding the role of the citizenship sale program in Roosevelt Skerrit's sudden wealth. Roosevelt Skerrit and his wife have refrained from answering questions from OCCRP journalists regarding the details of their significant asset increase.