How an Iran Oil Tycoon Got Inside the Western Financial System
Hossein Shamkhani used citizenship-by-investment programs to gain access to the international banking system — a position he protected through relationships in the UAE and Washington.
Boats in Roseau’s harbor, Dominica.
Photographer: Reinhard Dirscherl/Ullstein Bild/Getty Images
On a winding road hugging Dominica’s palm-dotted shores stand a string of partially finished luxury hotels. A few miles north, sits the future home of the Portsmouth Marina — a development seeking to draw superyachts to the island.
They are testament to a bet Dominica made three decades ago on citizenship by investment, or CBI. In essence, the tiny Caribbean nation has dished out passports to foreigners in exchange for significant lump sums. It’s brought billions into the economy, while offering an easy additional nationality to anyone whose origins might raise red flags in the financial community.