Antigua and Barbuda Justice Movement
C/O McChesney Emanuel
P.O. Box 377
Bronx, NY 10466
Principal of St. Pius V Elementary School
413 East 144th Street,
Bronx, NY 10454
Pbone: 718-665-5075 Cell: 914-469-2612
Email: b257@adnschools.org
Email: macbritney@optionline.net
Senator Hillary Clinton
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510-3204
December 18, 2003
Re: Antigua & Barbuda - Request for Inquiry of Violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by a US-Based Company.
Dear Senator Clinton:
I am writing to let you know that I appreciate the work you are doing on behalf of the people of New York. You doing a superior job in the US Senate is merely a continuation of the superior job you did when you were First Lady. You can rest assured that this constituent stands ready to help you in what ever way I can so that you can continue to work in the US Senate on behalf of this State in general and on behalf of this District in particular.
The other purpose of this communication is to bring to your attention a matter that has national and international implications. It is a personal issue for me because although I have been a US citizen for nearly 20 years, the matter touches and concerns the place of my birth - the tiny Island Nation of Antigua & Barbuda. I am requesting that your office make an urgent and appropriate inquiry to determine whether there bas been a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCP A") by a US-based business operating in Antigua & Barbuda, and determine whether or not enforcement action is warranted by the US Department of Justice.
Antigua & Barbuda is a twin-island nation with the seat of government in Antigua. The matters referred to herein relate to events in the Island of Antigua only. The people of Antigua, including expatriates like myself, are in an uproar over widespread reports that certain Antigua government officials are soliciting and accepting large sums of money in bribery payments from a Texas businessman named R. Allen Stanford in order to allow Mr. Stanford to obtain and retain business in Antigua on behalf of Stanford Financial Group ("SFG") of Houston, Texas.
SFG, operates an international network of financial entities in the US, Antigua, Aruba, Ecuador, Mexico, Switzerland and Venezuela. It is an international banking concern that as of April 2003 has $17 billion under management. At least four of SFG's enterprises are located in Antigua:
1. Stanford Trust Company: Through “trust arrangements" this entity offers private banking~ financial planning, brokerage services and insurance to its clients.
2. Stanford International Bank Ltd.: This entity has its "head office" in Antigua. Presumably because Antigua has strict .laws protecting private financial information; and it employs a "sophisticated internal security system" to protect electronic data.
3. Bank of Antigua Ltd.: This entity is classified as a leading commercial. bank in the Eastern Caribbean that caters primarily to international business people and visitors to Antigua arriving by cruise ships.
4. Stanford Development Company, Ltd. This entity apparently is involved in real estate development.
All four of these entities are located adjacent to the International Airport in Antigua (aka, V.C. Bird International airport). You should note that an international businessperson wanting to do business with any of these entities is able to fly nonstop from Antigua to New York, London, Miami, Toronto, Zurich, Caracas, Newark, Frankfurt and San Juan.
As an aside: You should also note that in 2001 the US State Department described Antigua as one of the “Primary Concern" jurisdictions for money laundering. (See Excerpts from State Department's 2001 report “Money Laundering and Financial Crimes"). While I am not accusing Mr. Stanford of engaging in monney laundering in view of Antigua's history with this activity, there is concern as to whether or not such activity could be effectively monitored given Antigua’s strict" privacy laws for financial transactions which is One of the selling-points used by Stanford International Bank Ltd, in its advertisements.
In the past few years, there have been a number of transactions between the government of Antigua and Mr. Stanford that are of questionable legality. In addition to the local media, independent news agencies such as the Wall Street Journal and the BBC have widely reported on corruption by public officials and the widespread disaffection of the people of Antigua. However, the most recent uproar came about when in October 2003 Mr. Stanford paid two government officials ED$100,000.00 each while they were negotiating a multi-million dollar land exchange deal with Mr. Stanford on behalf of the government of Antigua. The two government officials, Messrs. Gaston Brown and Molwyn Joseph, happen to be ministers of the Antigua & Barbuda Parliament. As such they exert substantial influence over the government and the enactment of Parliament. Mr. Stanford also paid EC$500,000.00 to the ruling Antigua Labor Party (ALP) headed by Mr. Lester Bird at about the same time. In addition, despite public condemnation, Mr. Stanford gave Messrs. Brown and Joseph an additional bribe of $400,000.00 dollars November 26, 2003. The land exchange deal involved the acquisition of land upon which the Antigua General Post Office is located. This piece of real estate just happens to be located near where the cruise ships dock in St. Johns, the capital city; and it is land upon which Mr. Stanford intends to erect a financial center.
Mr. Stanford's conduct appears to be in violation of the FCP A. Under the FCP A it is unlawful to bribe a foreign government official to obtain or retain business. The anti-bribery provisions of the Act make it unlawful for a firm, or an officer, employee or agent of the firm, to offer, pay, promise to pay any foreign official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business for or with or directing business to any person. In this instance it appears that the payment to members of the Antigua Parliament with whom Mr. Stanford was negotiating was a bribe for their vote in favor of the land exchange. Mr. Stanford became a citizen of Antigua in 1999. However, questions have been raised about the validity of his citizenship and whether he has actually renounced his US citizenship, a pre-requisite for Antigua & Barbuda citizenship. As I understand the act, Mr. Stanford’s Antigua-Barbuda citizenship does not provide any immunity from prosecution under the FCPA. Mr Stanford is the chief executive officer of SFG, an entity based in the US.
This is a brief overview of what I believe is illegal conduct by a United States-based business in a foreign jurisdiction and it is conduct that warrants the attention of the United States government. I have a particular interest in Antigua because it is my ancestral home. Its government is being purchased by Mr. Stanford, with the active participation of corrupt government officials, in order to assure that SFG's business entities obtain and retain business in Antigua. Indeed, according to the Wall Street Journal of March 5, 200l Antigua is the "personal fief of R. Allen Stanford, a Texas developer and international banker." There is an abundance of published information about Mr. Stanford's relationship to the tiny Island Nation and the corrupt activities by certain members of the ruling ALP. However, I believe that Mr. Stanford should not be allowed to continue violating the FCPA.
Right now there is both a political and an economic crisis in Antigua and Barbuda. News reports suggest that things are at a boiling point because the people are angry and they resent the fact that Mr. Stanford is using money to bribe government officials and to exert a corrupting influence over the government of Antigua and Barbuda in order to maintain and retain business in this nation for himself and for SFG. The US Congress has shown, by its enactment of FCPA and the various amendments to the Act, that it takes this issue of bribery and corruption seriously. Indeed the amendments of 1988 and 1998 were designed to bring the Act in compliance with the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (the "Convention}. As you know, the Convention was signed by the twenty-nine countries, including the United States, that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the "OECD") and five non-members collectively referred to as the "OECD Convention.” That Convention was ratified by the Congress and signed by President Clinton in 1998. (See S.237SJ Pub. L. 105-366 (November 10,1999).
Antigua & Barbuda is a tiny nation (Population 70,000). It appears that by paying bribes to the government officials, the County is being used as a convenient place for a US-based business with huge amounts of resources to conduct international business and escape the scrutiny of the FCPA. I will appreciate any help your office can provide in exposing this matter. If warranted, the Department of Justice should be asked to take appropriate action to enjoin SFG and Mr. Stanford from further violations of the FCP A. I believe meaningful action on the part of the Department of Justice pursuant to the enactment of Congress will discourage other businesses from violating the Act.
I will be happy to meet with you or your staff to discuss this matter in greater detail. I will also be willing to make appropriate arrangements for your office to confer with persons from Antigua who are familiar with the facts and will be able to provide additional information about this matter. Because of the nature of this issue, I am forwarding a courtesy copy of this letter to the entire New York delegation.
Please feel free to call me if you have any questions. Thanks for your assistance in this matter, and please keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
McChesney E.manuel
Cc: Rep. Tim Bishop
Rep. Steve Israel
Rep. Peter King
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
Rep- Gary Ackerman
Rep. Gregory Meeks
Rep. Joseph Crowley
Rep. Jerrold Nadler
Rep. Anthony Weiner
Rep. Edolphus Towns
Rep. Major Owens
Rep. Nydia Velazquez
Rep. Vito FosseUa
Rep. Carolyn Maloney
Rep- Charles Rangel
Rep. Jose Serrano
Rep. Eliot Engel
Rep. Nita Lowey
Rep. Sue Kelly
Rep. John Sweeney
Rep. Michael McNulty
Rep. Maurice Hinchey
Rep. John McHugh
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert
Rep- James Walsh
Rep. Thomas Reynolds
Rep. Jack Quinn
Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter
Rep. Amory Houghton
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Follow up Letter January 16th 2004
From: Mr. McChesney Emanuel
Please note that a copy of this letter was sent to Congressman Meeks and Mr. Meeks is aware of the investigation of Mr. Allan Stanford, yet be has decided to accept a free: trip from Mr. Stanford to Antigua.
The Antigua and Barbuda Justice Movement will ask the Congressional Committee to take a look at Mr. Meeks action.
McChesney Emanuel 1/16/04
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