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OCCRP: Documentary Claims Corruption with Caribbean Diplomatic Passports
Schuyler Esprit, PhD
Dominica News Online: Opposition Leader denies offering diplomatic passport
Radio Jamaica: Grenada PM denies his party received campaign financing from failed Citizenship by Investment programme
Diplomats for Sale dominated news across the Caribbean for weeks after broadcast. It made headlines in Africa, Europe and Iran as well as being reported by anti-corruption groups such as OCCRP.
In Dominica, the investigation became a major campaigning issue during the country’s general election. Both major parties used excerpts from the investigation in their social media campaigns and speeches. Each party selectively used evidence that highlighted the improper actions of their opponents. Local activists also used images from the program in memes, posts and videos.
In Grenada, a senior civil servant was fired after the investigation embarrassed the government. At the United Nations, the Grenadian delegation announced that a former model and millionairess, Amanda Ungaro-Zampolli, was no longer one of its ambassadors.
The former UN Judge, Geoffrey Robertson QC called the trade in diplomatic passports a “scandal” and applauded the role of the documentary in exposing “an unconscionable situation”.
