Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Mort de Wilson Bigaud, l’un des derniers géants de la peinture haïtienne
(This man was one of Haiti's greatest painters, worth 100 of the so-called "artists" I see exhibited in most galleries here in the United States. MD)
Haïti-Peinture-DécèsMort de Wilson Bigaud, l’un des derniers géants de la peinture haïtienne
Le créateur, qui jouissait d’une cote internationale élevée, laisse derrière lui une oeuvre monumentale
mardi 23 mars 2010,
Radio Kiskeya
(Read the original article here)
Le célèbre artiste Wilson Bigaud, 85 ans, l’un des maîtres de la peinture haïtienne, est décédé des suites d’un malaise lundi aux premières heures dans sa résidence de Vialet, une section communale de Petit-Goâve (68 km au sud-ouest de Port-au-Prince), a appris Radio Kiskeya auprès de la famille du disparu.
Opéré des yeux et souffrant d’hémorroïdes, Bigaud avait du cesser de peindre depuis l’été dernier, a confié son fils Bichara dans les bras duquel il s’est éteint.
Auteur d’une œuvre colossale dispersée aux quatre coins de la planète, le créateur était dans la fleur de l’âge et à peine remis d’une maladie l’ayant mentalement affecté lorsqu’il avait définitivement abandonné son Port-au-Prince natal pour s’installer à Petit-Goâve.
Dans la tranquille localité de Vialet, il a passé les 55 dernières années de sa vie.
Wilson Bigaud était l’un des derniers survivants de l’exaltante expérience de création artistique du Centre d’Art, fondé en 1944 par l’américain Dewitt Peters, principal artisan de la formation et de l’émergence des premiers grands plasticiens haïtiens.
Coloriste et dessinateur de grand talent, Bigaud avait usé de sa touche unique et d’un vrai sens de l’observation pour devenir au fil du temps le peintre du quotidien de la vie provinciale prise dans ses divers contours et déclinaisons.
Porteurs d’une charge de psychologie sociale et d’une simplicité maintes fois renouvelée, les personnages des toiles du disparu sont, à travers leurs yeux globuleux, leurs costumes originaux et l’élégance des gestes, l’archétype d’une civilisation et l’expression d’une esthétique identitaire.
Un foisonnemment de mouvements et d’images qui donne sa densité à une forme de vie communautaire aujourd’hui en voie de disparition.
Le nom de Wilson Bigaud restera pour toujours intimement associé à la cathédrale de Sainte-Trinité, à Port-au-Prince. Avec d’illustres contemporains comme Castera Bazile et Rigaud Benoît, il réalisa, en effet, les célèbres fresques murales de l’église anglicane détruite par le séisme du 12 janvier dernier.
Avec le départ de l’artiste, la peinture haïtienne perd l’un de ses plus grands représentants alors qu’elle était déjà orpheline d’autres grosses pointures internationalement connues. André Pierre, Gesner Armand, Néhémy Jean, Louisiane St-Fleurant et Alix Roy (victime du tremblement de terre) sont notamment décédés ces dernières années.
La date des funérailles de Wilson Bigaud doit être annoncée ultérieurement. spp/Radio Kiskeya
Why Haiti’s Debt Should Be Forgiven
A friend of mine recently asked me why Haiti, among all countries, deserved to have its international debt forgiven, as the Inter-American Development Bank recently did to the tune of $479 million.
Aside from the reason that I personally find most compelling - that Haiti has suffered one of the worst natural disasters in history, we have the means to help them and it is simply the right thing to do - there are, in my view, other compelling reasons why Haiti’s debt should be forgiven. Haiti is in far worse shape than quite a few countries I have seen in Africa, with over half of it’s people living on less than US$1 a day, with only the people of Somalia and Afghanistan suffering from higher rates of hunger, and with 90 percent of its tree cover gone (these are statistics from BEFORE the earthquake). But there are also arguments for debt forgiveness that, in my view, go to explain how, though Haiti’s political class has done a handy job of wrecking the country over the last two hundred years, they have had plenty of help from the international community.
In 1825, only 21 years after on independence, a French fleet appeared in Port-au-Prince harbour and threatened to bomb and destroy the Haitian capital unless the country agreed to pay an indemnity for the “intemperance” of having seized its freedom and having outlawed slavery. Haiti was forced to accept a debt of 150 million francs in exchange for France accepting the nation’s independence, a debt that took decades to repay and economically ravaged the country.
One of the reasons that the death toll in the earthquake was so large was that, in recent decades especially, tens of thousands of people have been migrating from the countryside into Port-au-Prince, where they lived in shockingly substandard housing that made them especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as the one that occurred. But why, we must ask ourselves, did they come into the capital in the first place?
In 1980-83, when tests showed nearly a quarter of Haiti’s pigs were infected with African Swine Fever, the U.S- Canadian funded Program for the Eradication of Porcine Swine Fever and Development of Pig-Raising (PEPADEP) succeeded in destroying the 1.2 million Kreyol pigs (kochon kreyol) that formed one of the backbones of the peasant economy. PEPADEP officials paid for the pigs before they slaughtered them, or, in many cases, promised to pay for them or replace them and never did. Most of the replacement pigs that were delivered soon died, unable to adjust to the rough world the Kreyol swine had grown so accustomed to, and an already difficult peasant economy suffered another blow.
Further undermining Haiti’s ability to feed itself, in typically duplicitous fashion in 1995 then-Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, implementing an economic adjustment plan mandated by the IMF and further turning the screws on the peasantry that he could never win over, cut tariffs on rice imports to the country from 35 percent to 3 percent. This further undermined the peasant economy despite the fact that Haiti for many years had produced low-cost, inexpensive rice for domestic consumption. After 1995, that is, after implementing the economic policies of the international community, it effectively lost the ability to do so.
In my view, “we” in the international community have helped get Haiti into its current sorry state, and debt relief is one tool at our disposal to help try and get it out. Given our dubious history there, it would be downright immoral not to use it.
Aside from the reason that I personally find most compelling - that Haiti has suffered one of the worst natural disasters in history, we have the means to help them and it is simply the right thing to do - there are, in my view, other compelling reasons why Haiti’s debt should be forgiven. Haiti is in far worse shape than quite a few countries I have seen in Africa, with over half of it’s people living on less than US$1 a day, with only the people of Somalia and Afghanistan suffering from higher rates of hunger, and with 90 percent of its tree cover gone (these are statistics from BEFORE the earthquake). But there are also arguments for debt forgiveness that, in my view, go to explain how, though Haiti’s political class has done a handy job of wrecking the country over the last two hundred years, they have had plenty of help from the international community.
In 1825, only 21 years after on independence, a French fleet appeared in Port-au-Prince harbour and threatened to bomb and destroy the Haitian capital unless the country agreed to pay an indemnity for the “intemperance” of having seized its freedom and having outlawed slavery. Haiti was forced to accept a debt of 150 million francs in exchange for France accepting the nation’s independence, a debt that took decades to repay and economically ravaged the country.
One of the reasons that the death toll in the earthquake was so large was that, in recent decades especially, tens of thousands of people have been migrating from the countryside into Port-au-Prince, where they lived in shockingly substandard housing that made them especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as the one that occurred. But why, we must ask ourselves, did they come into the capital in the first place?
In 1980-83, when tests showed nearly a quarter of Haiti’s pigs were infected with African Swine Fever, the U.S- Canadian funded Program for the Eradication of Porcine Swine Fever and Development of Pig-Raising (PEPADEP) succeeded in destroying the 1.2 million Kreyol pigs (kochon kreyol) that formed one of the backbones of the peasant economy. PEPADEP officials paid for the pigs before they slaughtered them, or, in many cases, promised to pay for them or replace them and never did. Most of the replacement pigs that were delivered soon died, unable to adjust to the rough world the Kreyol swine had grown so accustomed to, and an already difficult peasant economy suffered another blow.
Further undermining Haiti’s ability to feed itself, in typically duplicitous fashion in 1995 then-Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, implementing an economic adjustment plan mandated by the IMF and further turning the screws on the peasantry that he could never win over, cut tariffs on rice imports to the country from 35 percent to 3 percent. This further undermined the peasant economy despite the fact that Haiti for many years had produced low-cost, inexpensive rice for domestic consumption. After 1995, that is, after implementing the economic policies of the international community, it effectively lost the ability to do so.
In my view, “we” in the international community have helped get Haiti into its current sorry state, and debt relief is one tool at our disposal to help try and get it out. Given our dubious history there, it would be downright immoral not to use it.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Development bank forgives $479 million Haiti debt
Development bank forgives $479 million Haiti debt
By Istra Pacheco, Associated Press Writer
Mon Mar 22 2010, 5:46 pm ET
CANCUN, Mexico – The Inter-American Development Bank said Monday it has agreed to forgive $479 million in debts owed by quake-ravaged Haiti.
Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno said the bank's board of governors voted to forgive the debt and will offer $2 billion in financing to the Caribbean nation over the next 10 years.
"This commitment is good news for all Haitians, and will help heal the wounds caused by the earthquake," Moreno said at the inauguration of the bank's annual meeting in the Caribbean coast resort of Cancun.
The IADB debt was the biggest single chunk of the $1.2 billion Haiti owed as of late January, according to figures of the International Monetary Fund.
The measures are meant to help Haiti recover from the magnitude-7 Jan. 12 earthquake, which killed an estimated 230,000 people. The new funds would be directed toward supporting long-term reconstruction and development efforts.
The 48-member regional development bank is Latin America's largest lender for projects such as roads and power plants.
The administration of President Barack Obama is pushing for the cancellation of other multilateral debt, as well as the $400 million Haiti owes individual countries.
Also Monday, European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said in Brussels that the EU foreign ministers agreed to donate euro1 billion ($1.36 billion) in development aid to Haiti in the years ahead.
Ashton said she will pledge that amount on the EU's behalf at a Haiti donors conference in New York next week.
She says what the Caribbean country needs after the devastating earthquake is "long-term development aid."
In addition to discussing debt relief for Haiti, Moreno said the board of governors had voted for a $70 billion increase in the bank's current capital of about $100 billion. Moreno called it the biggest capital increase in the bank's history, and said it would allow the bank to become the biggest multilateral lending agency for the region.
Colombian Economy Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga said the capital increase would allow the bank to continue financing economic and development projects.
"With this increase, we have established a basis for the bank into the future," Zuluaga said.
In 2009, the bank made loans worth a record $15.5 billion, and it had warned that, without a capital increase, it would have to cut its lending to about half that.
But Moreno said that after Monday's decision the bank could boost its lending to an average of about $12 billion per year, focusing especially on "the poorest and most vulnerable" economies. Poverty reduction, climate change programs and extending educational coverage would be among the priorities for new projects.
By Istra Pacheco, Associated Press Writer
Mon Mar 22 2010, 5:46 pm ET
CANCUN, Mexico – The Inter-American Development Bank said Monday it has agreed to forgive $479 million in debts owed by quake-ravaged Haiti.
Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno said the bank's board of governors voted to forgive the debt and will offer $2 billion in financing to the Caribbean nation over the next 10 years.
"This commitment is good news for all Haitians, and will help heal the wounds caused by the earthquake," Moreno said at the inauguration of the bank's annual meeting in the Caribbean coast resort of Cancun.
The IADB debt was the biggest single chunk of the $1.2 billion Haiti owed as of late January, according to figures of the International Monetary Fund.
The measures are meant to help Haiti recover from the magnitude-7 Jan. 12 earthquake, which killed an estimated 230,000 people. The new funds would be directed toward supporting long-term reconstruction and development efforts.
The 48-member regional development bank is Latin America's largest lender for projects such as roads and power plants.
The administration of President Barack Obama is pushing for the cancellation of other multilateral debt, as well as the $400 million Haiti owes individual countries.
Also Monday, European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said in Brussels that the EU foreign ministers agreed to donate euro1 billion ($1.36 billion) in development aid to Haiti in the years ahead.
Ashton said she will pledge that amount on the EU's behalf at a Haiti donors conference in New York next week.
She says what the Caribbean country needs after the devastating earthquake is "long-term development aid."
In addition to discussing debt relief for Haiti, Moreno said the board of governors had voted for a $70 billion increase in the bank's current capital of about $100 billion. Moreno called it the biggest capital increase in the bank's history, and said it would allow the bank to become the biggest multilateral lending agency for the region.
Colombian Economy Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga said the capital increase would allow the bank to continue financing economic and development projects.
"With this increase, we have established a basis for the bank into the future," Zuluaga said.
In 2009, the bank made loans worth a record $15.5 billion, and it had warned that, without a capital increase, it would have to cut its lending to about half that.
But Moreno said that after Monday's decision the bank could boost its lending to an average of about $12 billion per year, focusing especially on "the poorest and most vulnerable" economies. Poverty reduction, climate change programs and extending educational coverage would be among the priorities for new projects.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Interview with Haiti President Rene Preval: 'I don't think we could have done better'
Interview with Haiti President Rene Preval: 'I don't think we could have done better'
Haiti President Rene Preval popped out of a shiny SUV. Then, just like that, he took my arm and pulled me inside with him. 'Don’t you have some questions for me?' he asked. As a journalist, how could I say no?
By Kathie Klarreich, Correspondent
posted March 17, 2010 at 5:36 pm EDT
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
(Read the original article here)
Without an appointment, the easiest place to get an official quote from someone in the government – including Haiti President René Préval – is the DCPG, the old police headquarters. But the only police that are there now are the ones protecting the government, which moved in after the Jan. 12 earthquake.
In contrast to the once elegant but now collapsed National Palace of Haiti, the new offices are in an innocuous, one-story blue and white building so small that press conferences are held in the parking lot.
That’s where I was standing when several shiny four-wheel drive vehicles pulled up.
President Préval emerged from one.
He was instantly surrounded by flashing cameras. He flashed a smile back at them, and then at me. We’ve known each other for 20 years.
Just like that, he took my arm and pulled me inside with him.
“Don’t you have some questions for me?” he asked.
As a journalist, how could I say no?
A simple guy
His office was down two halls and in the interior of another room. There was a secretary’s desk, a round board-room type table, a mounted television that wasn’t plugged in, and a coffee maker. Maps of Port-au-Prince and an aerial photo of the city hung on a side wall.
Ti René, as he is called among friends, placed a blue folder and author Claude Moise’s book “The Constitution and Struggle for Power in Haiti" on the table and made sure I had a cup of coffee before asking me if I was ready to write down my answers.
President Préval is, at heart, a simple guy.
The last time I interviewed him was in 2008. I was with a television crew waiting in an ante-room inside the National Palace. Rather than send an aide to come get us, he came himself, grabbed the tripod, and carried it to his office, despite the cameraman’s protest.
“If what happened to Haiti on Jan. 12 had happened in the United States,” he started, “it’s comparable to 8 million people dying. When the Twin Towers fell, it took them two years to remove the debris. Between the international aid and resilience of the Haitian population, we did everything we could. I don’t think we could have done better.”
Elections not an option?
Préval reiterated his call to hold legislative elections – originally set for February and March, but postponed after the quake – as quickly as possible. “Democracy is the condition for development,” he said. “Development equals equality. We must reconstruct the entire country, not just Port-au-Prince.”
When asked about corruption, he bristled.
“Everyone is talking about it but no one has spoken about one specific act of corruption," he said. "International donors are increasing their budget support for us. Why is that?
“Is there corruption in the Haitian government? Yes," he said. "Are we doing something about it? Yes.”
He began to search his blackberry for the name of a man who was recently convicted of corruption charges in the United States due in part because of help from the Haitian government. Minutes passed and he was still looking.
“Not to worry,” I said, wanting to use my time efficiently. “I can find his name.”
“No, my name is well known, his should be too,” Préval insisted. Finally he found it. “Robert Antoine.”
Mr. Antoine is a former director of international relations for Teleco, the state-owned telecommunications company of Haiti and he was one of five people charged in Miami in December 2009 in connection with a bribery and money-laundering scheme involving the government company.
Antoine was one of three Haitians charged in the case, all of whom kept residences in Miami. Another of the Haitians, Jean Rene Duperval, also a former director of international relations for Teleco, was arrested in Haiti by a police unit that specializes in investigating financial corruption and sent to the US to stand trial, according to the US Justice Department.
Ties to Aristide
Préval spent the past five years shaking off the association of his name with that of Jean Bertrand Aristide, his predecessor. Now his name will be forever linked with that of the Jan. 12 earthquake, long after his term ends on Feb. 7, 2011.
Constitutionally he cannot run again, but he wants to hold democratic elections before he leaves office.
He also said he wants to work on decentralization, the reinforcement of the government, and the improvement of health and education services. But his immediate priorities are to open schools, provide adequate seeds and fertilizers to farmers, and secure housing for those left homeless after the quake.
When I asked how he responds to criticism that the international aid agencies have the supplies for housing but can’t do anything until they get land, which the government has yet to give, he just smiled, then said: “Interview over.”
Haiti President Rene Preval popped out of a shiny SUV. Then, just like that, he took my arm and pulled me inside with him. 'Don’t you have some questions for me?' he asked. As a journalist, how could I say no?
By Kathie Klarreich, Correspondent
posted March 17, 2010 at 5:36 pm EDT
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
(Read the original article here)
Without an appointment, the easiest place to get an official quote from someone in the government – including Haiti President René Préval – is the DCPG, the old police headquarters. But the only police that are there now are the ones protecting the government, which moved in after the Jan. 12 earthquake.
In contrast to the once elegant but now collapsed National Palace of Haiti, the new offices are in an innocuous, one-story blue and white building so small that press conferences are held in the parking lot.
That’s where I was standing when several shiny four-wheel drive vehicles pulled up.
President Préval emerged from one.
He was instantly surrounded by flashing cameras. He flashed a smile back at them, and then at me. We’ve known each other for 20 years.
Just like that, he took my arm and pulled me inside with him.
“Don’t you have some questions for me?” he asked.
As a journalist, how could I say no?
A simple guy
His office was down two halls and in the interior of another room. There was a secretary’s desk, a round board-room type table, a mounted television that wasn’t plugged in, and a coffee maker. Maps of Port-au-Prince and an aerial photo of the city hung on a side wall.
Ti René, as he is called among friends, placed a blue folder and author Claude Moise’s book “The Constitution and Struggle for Power in Haiti" on the table and made sure I had a cup of coffee before asking me if I was ready to write down my answers.
President Préval is, at heart, a simple guy.
The last time I interviewed him was in 2008. I was with a television crew waiting in an ante-room inside the National Palace. Rather than send an aide to come get us, he came himself, grabbed the tripod, and carried it to his office, despite the cameraman’s protest.
“If what happened to Haiti on Jan. 12 had happened in the United States,” he started, “it’s comparable to 8 million people dying. When the Twin Towers fell, it took them two years to remove the debris. Between the international aid and resilience of the Haitian population, we did everything we could. I don’t think we could have done better.”
Elections not an option?
Préval reiterated his call to hold legislative elections – originally set for February and March, but postponed after the quake – as quickly as possible. “Democracy is the condition for development,” he said. “Development equals equality. We must reconstruct the entire country, not just Port-au-Prince.”
When asked about corruption, he bristled.
“Everyone is talking about it but no one has spoken about one specific act of corruption," he said. "International donors are increasing their budget support for us. Why is that?
“Is there corruption in the Haitian government? Yes," he said. "Are we doing something about it? Yes.”
He began to search his blackberry for the name of a man who was recently convicted of corruption charges in the United States due in part because of help from the Haitian government. Minutes passed and he was still looking.
“Not to worry,” I said, wanting to use my time efficiently. “I can find his name.”
“No, my name is well known, his should be too,” Préval insisted. Finally he found it. “Robert Antoine.”
Mr. Antoine is a former director of international relations for Teleco, the state-owned telecommunications company of Haiti and he was one of five people charged in Miami in December 2009 in connection with a bribery and money-laundering scheme involving the government company.
Antoine was one of three Haitians charged in the case, all of whom kept residences in Miami. Another of the Haitians, Jean Rene Duperval, also a former director of international relations for Teleco, was arrested in Haiti by a police unit that specializes in investigating financial corruption and sent to the US to stand trial, according to the US Justice Department.
Ties to Aristide
Préval spent the past five years shaking off the association of his name with that of Jean Bertrand Aristide, his predecessor. Now his name will be forever linked with that of the Jan. 12 earthquake, long after his term ends on Feb. 7, 2011.
Constitutionally he cannot run again, but he wants to hold democratic elections before he leaves office.
He also said he wants to work on decentralization, the reinforcement of the government, and the improvement of health and education services. But his immediate priorities are to open schools, provide adequate seeds and fertilizers to farmers, and secure housing for those left homeless after the quake.
When I asked how he responds to criticism that the international aid agencies have the supplies for housing but can’t do anything until they get land, which the government has yet to give, he just smiled, then said: “Interview over.”
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Former Haitian Government Official Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering in Foreign Bribery Scheme
Former Haitian Government Official Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering in Foreign Bribery Scheme
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A former official of the Republic of Haiti's state-owned national telecommunications company pleaded guilty today to a money laundering conspiracy in connection with a foreign bribery scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U. S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman of the Southern District of Florida; and Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office.
"Today's guilty plea represents another important milestone in our ongoing effort to tackle overseas corruption," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "The message here is simple: Whether you are located in the United States or elsewhere, we will not allow U.S. financial institutions to be used as a vehicle for laundering illicit proceeds."
"Today's conviction should be a warning to corrupt government officials everywhere that neither they nor their money will find any safe haven in the United States," said U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman.
"The IRS is committed to enforcing the anti-money laundering laws and will continue to work with our international partners to investigate violations worldwide," said Special Agent in Charge Daniel W. Auer. "Haitian law enforcement should be commended for their commitment and professionalism throughout this investigation."
According to the indictment filed on Dec. 4, 2009, Robert Antoine, 62, of Miami and Haiti, was the director of international affairs for Haiti's state-owned national telecommunications company, Telecommunications D'Haiti (Haiti Teleco) from May 2001 to April 2003. In that position, Antoine had primary responsibility for the relationships between U.S. telecommunications companies and Haiti Teleco. Antoine admitted during his guilty plea that he accepted bribes from three U.S. telecommunications companies and thereby defrauded Haiti Teleco. To disguise the origin of these funds, Antoine admitted he laundered them through intermediary companies, including J.D. Locator Services. Juan Diaz, the president of J.D. Locator, pleaded guilty on May 15, 2009, to conspiracy to commit violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and money laundering. Antoine admitted that a portion of the J.D. Locator funds were also laundered by Jean Fourcand of Fourcand Enterprises, who pleaded guilty on Feb. 19, 2010, to money laundering.
Antoine admitted during his guilty plea that $800,000 of these bribes were intended to be given to him by a U.S. telecommunications company for which Joel Esquenazi was the president and director, Carlos Rodriguez was the executive vice president, and Antonio Perez was, at times, the controller. Perez pleaded guilty on Apr. 27, 2009, to conspiring to commit FCPA violations and money laundering.
Esquenazi and Rodriguez, as well as Jean Rene Duperval, who was director of international relations of Haiti Teleco from June 2003 to April 2004, and Duperval's sister, Marguerite Grandison, were indicted along with Antoine on Dec. 4, 2009.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Antoine faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. Antoine also agreed to a forfeiture order of $1,580,771. Sentencing is scheduled for May 27, 2010.
The Department of Justice is grateful to the government of Haiti for providing substantial assistance in gathering evidence during this investigation. In particular, Haiti's financial intelligence unit, the Unite Centrale de Renseignements Financiers (UCREF), the Bureau des Affaires Financieres et Economiques (BAFE), which is a specialized component of the Haitian National Police, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security provided significant cooperation and coordination in this ongoing investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Nicola J. Mrazek of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, Trial Attorney Kevin Gerrity of the Criminal Division's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aurora Fagan of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. The Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this matter. The case was investigated by the IRS-CI Miami Field Office.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A former official of the Republic of Haiti's state-owned national telecommunications company pleaded guilty today to a money laundering conspiracy in connection with a foreign bribery scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U. S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman of the Southern District of Florida; and Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office.
"Today's guilty plea represents another important milestone in our ongoing effort to tackle overseas corruption," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "The message here is simple: Whether you are located in the United States or elsewhere, we will not allow U.S. financial institutions to be used as a vehicle for laundering illicit proceeds."
"Today's conviction should be a warning to corrupt government officials everywhere that neither they nor their money will find any safe haven in the United States," said U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman.
"The IRS is committed to enforcing the anti-money laundering laws and will continue to work with our international partners to investigate violations worldwide," said Special Agent in Charge Daniel W. Auer. "Haitian law enforcement should be commended for their commitment and professionalism throughout this investigation."
According to the indictment filed on Dec. 4, 2009, Robert Antoine, 62, of Miami and Haiti, was the director of international affairs for Haiti's state-owned national telecommunications company, Telecommunications D'Haiti (Haiti Teleco) from May 2001 to April 2003. In that position, Antoine had primary responsibility for the relationships between U.S. telecommunications companies and Haiti Teleco. Antoine admitted during his guilty plea that he accepted bribes from three U.S. telecommunications companies and thereby defrauded Haiti Teleco. To disguise the origin of these funds, Antoine admitted he laundered them through intermediary companies, including J.D. Locator Services. Juan Diaz, the president of J.D. Locator, pleaded guilty on May 15, 2009, to conspiracy to commit violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and money laundering. Antoine admitted that a portion of the J.D. Locator funds were also laundered by Jean Fourcand of Fourcand Enterprises, who pleaded guilty on Feb. 19, 2010, to money laundering.
Antoine admitted during his guilty plea that $800,000 of these bribes were intended to be given to him by a U.S. telecommunications company for which Joel Esquenazi was the president and director, Carlos Rodriguez was the executive vice president, and Antonio Perez was, at times, the controller. Perez pleaded guilty on Apr. 27, 2009, to conspiring to commit FCPA violations and money laundering.
Esquenazi and Rodriguez, as well as Jean Rene Duperval, who was director of international relations of Haiti Teleco from June 2003 to April 2004, and Duperval's sister, Marguerite Grandison, were indicted along with Antoine on Dec. 4, 2009.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Antoine faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. Antoine also agreed to a forfeiture order of $1,580,771. Sentencing is scheduled for May 27, 2010.
The Department of Justice is grateful to the government of Haiti for providing substantial assistance in gathering evidence during this investigation. In particular, Haiti's financial intelligence unit, the Unite Centrale de Renseignements Financiers (UCREF), the Bureau des Affaires Financieres et Economiques (BAFE), which is a specialized component of the Haitian National Police, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security provided significant cooperation and coordination in this ongoing investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Nicola J. Mrazek of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, Trial Attorney Kevin Gerrity of the Criminal Division's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aurora Fagan of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. The Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this matter. The case was investigated by the IRS-CI Miami Field Office.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
Thursday, March 11, 2010
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