Wanted Fugitives: How Dominica’s Golden Passports Provided Escape Routes

Key Findings

Dozens of individuals with criminal backgrounds or active warrants have acquired Dominican passports between 2007 and 2022.
Some fugitives have used their Dominican passports to open businesses abroad and evade authorities.

Fugitives with Dominican Passports

Mutasem Faouri

Jordanian businessman convicted of misappropriating millions of dollars from a financial services firm.
Used Dominican passport to register companies in the U.K. as recently as last year.

Nigerian Ponzi Schemers

Glory Oseidebame and Muyiwa Charles Folorunso: Indicted for defrauding investors of up to 1 billion naira ($1.3 million).

Mehdi Ebrahimi Eshratabadi

Iranian citizen wanted for fraud charges and subject to an active Interpol Red Notice.
Obtained a passport from Dominica in 2015 and a Cypriot passport as “Tony Newman.”

Indian Businessmen

Prateek Vijay Gupta: Wanted for illegally siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars.
Aman Lohia: Son of an Indian businessman, obtained a Dominica passport in 2018 amid a custody battle and was later brought back to India.

Convicted Real Estate Promoter and Wife

Sanjay Chandra and Preeti Chandra: Wife of convicted real estate promoter was also convicted for helping move her husband’s money overseas. Preeti Chandra arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport attempting to use her Dominica passport to leave the country in 2019.

Russian Businessman

Roman Viktorovich Vasilenko: Wanted by Russia since at least 2022.
Obtained his Dominica passport in 2018.

Prime Minister’s Assurance vs. Expert Opinions

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit pledged that Dominica has a rigorous vetting process, but experts argue that citizenship-by-investment programs can attract individuals seeking to evade prosecution.

“A golden passport in your back pocket allows you to skip town when the going gets tough. New citizenship and potentially a new identity come in handy if you want to evade law enforcement and prosecution efforts.”

Eka Rostomashvili, Transparency International

Local Reactions

Dominican government officials did not respond to requests for comment. Local activists declined to speak on the record, citing potential retaliation.