In a startling revelation during a recent interview with DBS Television, MSR Media owner Phillippe Martinez confessed that he approached the Prime Minister of St. Lucia through his attorney, requesting a whopping US $9 million to withdraw a legal case. This controversial demand was met with an outright refusal from the Prime Minister.
The ethical implications of such a request are profound, as it suggests a willingness to compromise legal and moral standards for financial gain. This act of purported extortion, where a supposed witness to a murder crime offers to retract their testimony for money, is not only ethically reprehensible but also potentially criminal under U.S. law.
US statutes, specifically 18 U.S. Code § 1512 – Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant, and 18 U.S. Code § 1503 – Obstruction of justice, may now be applicable to Martinez’s actions.
His attempt to secure financial compensation in exchange for dropping a lawsuit, which he claims involves multimillion-dollar fraud, aligns disturbingly with definitions of criminal behavior under these sections. This incident casts a long shadow over Martinez’s credibility and intentions.
Further adding to the controversy, Martinez remained mum over similar solicitations potentially made to the government of St Kitts and Nevis. During the same interview, he also mentioned intending to urge the US courts to investigate bank transactions made in Asia and the Middle East under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) case. This claim seems to lack substantial justification for such an international probe, puzzling legal experts and observers about the relevance and legitimacy of his assertions.
Additionally, Martinez’s acknowledged connection with Allen Chastanet, the Leader of the Opposition in St. Lucia, adds another layer of complexity and potential conflict of interest to the situation. His openness about this relationship, coupled with his aggressive legal posturing, prompts critical questions about the integrity of his actions and the broader implications for governance and justice in the Caribbean.
The big questions are that underselling is an issue to be addressed by the government authorities and if they are not listening, the matter shall be proceeded with Caribbean Court of Justice. Why would US court address an issue related to local government in the Caribbean region.
The Medium Article
The United States of America often promotes itself as a global leader in upholding law and order, vowing to protect people worldwide from any wrongdoing. However, there seems to be a disconnect between this promise and the actions of some Americans who take advantage of their citizenship.
These individuals commit crimes abroad and then hide behind their American citizenship, with confidence in the US government to shield them from any adverse consequences. Over the years, the situation has gotten critical and poses challenge: how can the U.S. ensure that its citizens do not abuse their status to escape justice in other countries.
One notable example involves Phillippe Martinez, a US citizen who traveled to the Caribbean and tricked many officials into a large-scale financial fraud. After returning to the US, he shockingly sued Caribbean officials and companies, trying to force them into paying him more money by making false accusations.
This case highlights the brazen misuse of US legal protections to intimidate and exploit others, contradicting the nation’s stated commitment to justice.
The issue escalated when a report surfaced by a whistleblower shed light on Martinez’s corrupt activities, including introduction of bribery in the Caribbean region. Following this revelation, a few of the Caribbean countries started investigating the details in the report.
They are now reaching out to the US Embassy in Barbados for support in addressing these matters. Reportedly, if they don’t get the cooperation they need, the concerns will be raised in the United Nations, aiming to hold Martinez accountable and prevent similar abuses by other US citizens in the future.
How it all started
Philippe Martinez- a French film producer, director, screenwriter, actor and the founder of MSR Media Ltd had been involved in several fraud cases in France and the United Kingdom. Due to this, he was convicted and sentenced to jail term in France and was also subject to legal proceedings in UK and the United States.
The legal issues have maligned his reputation on the global scale and impacted his business dealings across these countries. In all these scenarios and during COVID when the world was stand still, he started plotting new fraudulent strategies and shifted his focus on the vulnerable countries- Caribbean region.
A comprehensive investigative report on the misconduct done by Philippe Martinez has been surfacing the public domain. The report clearly showcased the plannings and plotting of the film producer in establishing his foothold in Caribbean with dubious and corrupt tactics.
While approaching Barbados and Nevis for film making, he promised the governments to shoot the films in which the beauty of both the island nations will be showcased. Premier of Nevis- Mark Brantley also offered him an opportunity and signed a two-year deal with Martinez to produce a series of films on the island nation.
As per the report, he was being paid US$150,000 on monthly basis for shooting films on the Nevis Island. However, he miserably failed to make any impact through his movies on the audience as his films have earned any profit and turned out to be massive box office failures.
The lack of positive reception at the box office garnered massive criticism from the locals as well as government. When he failed in his film business in Nevis, he came up with new tactics to loot the money from the small island nations.
He started leveraging his experience gained from previous fraudulent activities and introduced corruption culture in the parts of the Caribbean region. With his evil intentions, he started developing a close relationship with Leslie Khan (Les Khan)- former Head of the Citizenship by Investment Unit of St Kitts and Nevis and the current CEO of the Caribbean Galaxy.
Martinez approached Les Khan with the intent to loot money from the government, gain favours and establish his strong hold on the country. The report highlighted that to fulfill his agenda, he started bribing Khan by hosting lavish dinners, giving luxury gifts and organizing parties for him at five-star hotels.
The relationship further strengthened when Martinez started giving more than two significant gifts to Les Khan. He devised strategic plan of covering expenses of Les Khan that had paid off as he managed to acquire US$5 million Ocean Terrance In (OTI), a project under the Citizenship by Investment Programme of St Kitts and Nevis.
His bribing experience which he had gained from his previous fraudulent activities have paid off in the small island nations. Philippe Martinez manipulated Khan to advance his personal interests due to which he undermined the integrity of the Citizenship by Investment Programme of St Kitts and Nevis.
As per the report, Martinez acquired shared in the hotel and in return, he managed to get the citizenship of US$200 million, indicating a major scam and fraud. The sale of 500 citizenship by investment (CBI) applications at a minimum of US$200,000 each totaled over US$200 million in returns, meaning he would have earned 40 times more than his initial investment.
The entire calculations showed that Philippe Martinez benefited from his investment in the hotel. However, his investment has never benefited the economy and the local community of St Kitts and Nevis. He never sold the 500 citizenship applications, hinting at the wicked motives of Martinez behind this.
When he failed to sell the citizenship applications, Martinez again started developing his scamming ideas to fraud the region. He came up with an idea of extorting people who are vulnerable and low in population.
Continuing his bribing saga, he started demanding money from the governments of the Caribbean. He had begun extortion of the government and asked them to take the hotel back that had been failed miserably due to his misconducts. In return of contributing nothing beneficial to St Kitts and Nevis, he demanded over $20 million from the government.
When the government rejected his demands, Philippe Martinez took another wicked step to extort the government by filing a RICO Suit. Now, he came up with a plan that if the government accepts his demand and gives him over $20 million, then he would withdraw the RICO Suit.
The report outlined that the RICO Suit was filed by Martinez on the grounds of the issue of the underselling of the citizenship in St Kitts and Nevis. However, the suit is surrounded with problematic aspects as he is not obliged to challenge another country’s citizenship programme. Secondly, the RICO Suit appears to be another malign tactic of Philippe Martinez in order to gain personal benefits.
The investigative report shed light on the aspect that Philippe Martinez deliberately targetted small island states that are vulnerable, economically disadvantaged and consisted of innocent people. He launched his willful tactics in the region and promoted the corruption and extortion culture by bribing influential personalities such as Les Khan.
His actions were driven by a desire to exploit these small countries and gain personal benefits from them.
The report asserted that the actions and tactics of Philippe Martinez are subject to significant legal action. Under US corruption law, a strong case against Phillippe Martinez shall be filed and must undergo trial.
As per the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977, he must be charged and should face a fine up to $2 million per violation. Additionally, fines can double the amount of the expected bribery benefit. Certain willful violations can result in up to 20 years in prison.
Disclaimer: No Daily Research Editor, journalist was involved in the research of this article.