Financial Crime World

Title: Convicted Fraudsters Sell False Allegations against Antigua and Barbuda as Financial Crime Experts

Two notorious criminals, Kenneth Rijock and Monte Morris Friesner, who have previously been convicted of money laundering and fraud, have resurfaced online, posing as Financial Crime Consultants and targeting Antigua and Barbuda’s government and Citizenship by Investment Programme.

Criminal Histories

  • Kenneth Rijock: Previously targeted governments in Dominica and St Kitts-Nevis.
  • Monte Morris Friesner (websites: [websitename1], [websitename2]): Convictions for fraud, assault, arson, and possession of stolen property.

Damaging Reputations with Bogus Information

Both men have recently intensified their efforts against Antigua and Barbuda, publishing numerous baseless blogs about the government and its Citizenship by Investment Programme.

Fabricated News and Scandalous Claims

Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) Government

Friesner gained notoriety during Antigua and Barbuda’s recent election campaign by posting fabricated news against the ABLP government.

Asot Michael

One of their most scandalous claims involved asserting that Asot Michael, a government Minister, was arrested in the UK with blank Antigua and Barbuda passports. This claim was emphatically denied in writing by the British National Crime Agency on 13 April 2023.

Diplomatic Corps

The duo also alleged that a prominent member of the diplomatic corps was involved in a counterfeit passport scheme in St Vincent, without specifying which country would carry out the arrest or indictment. This malicious attack on Antigua and Barbuda’s diplomats was swiftly denounced as baseless and defamatory by the government.

Investigations

The investigations resulted from St Vincent’s police force discovering criminal activity implicating an Antigua and Barbuda police officer. The alleged activity pertained to the passport’s pages and did not include any missing Antigua and Barbuda passports, as Rijock and Friesner claimed in their blogs. The police officer was suspended, and a thorough investigation involving law enforcement agencies in St Vincent and Antigua and Barbuda ensued.

False Allegations Regarding Passports

The convicts also claimed that 200 blank Antigua and Barbuda passports were given to a Chinese businessman, who allegedly lost them. They even claimed that ’thousands of bogus passports were manufactured and sold.’ The government dismissed these claims outright, emphasizing that no Antigua and Barbuda passports have ever been entrusted to anyone outside the official Passport office.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Tourism Minister, Charles Fernandez, flatly refused their allegations, stating: “Contrary to the false claims by these two scoundrels, every cent of a US$15 million loan made to the Government by Fancy Bridge Ltd in a legal contract, dated 19th June 2015, is fully accounted for.” The government remains committed to protecting its passports’ integrity and reputation, having transitioned from machine readable to biometric passports over the last few months, and is also considering pursuing legal action against Rijock and Friesner for the damage they have caused.