Jose Ramos-Horta urged by opposition to explain diplomatic passport given to businessman behind resort project, who denies any involvement with organised crime
Timor-Leste’s opposition has questioned how foreign investors in a proposed cryptocurrency resort obtained prime beachfront real estate in the country’s capital, and has called on the president to explain why he issued a diplomatic passport to a Chinese businessman involved in the project.
Speaking in parliament in Dili on Monday, Fretilin opposition party MP Florentino Ximenes da Costa “Sinarai” raised concerns about the proposed AB Digital Technology Resort, which was the subject of a months-long investigation by the Guardian and Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
The report uncovered alleged links between three individuals involved with the resort project and Prince Group, a multibillion-dollar Cambodian conglomerate accused by US authorities of running “industrial-scale” scams. A spokesperson for the Prince Group denied all claims of criminality and said the US allegations were “nothing more than a cash grab”.
Current shareholders in the resort project denied any involvement with organised crime or any other wrongdoing, and said the alleged Prince Group associates had been immediately dismissed from the resort after US sanctions were announced in October.
