Slovenian broadcaster 24UR ran a two part investigative report featuring yours truly three weeks ago, about a local businessman, Marijan Groff, who obtained a fake Panamanian diplomatic passport through a scam that fraudster Monte Friesner is running.
24UR accuses Groff, an "investment banking pioneer", of basically being a corporate raider who takes over enterprises, sucks them dry and then funnels the money to the British Virgin Islands.
Your Bananama Republic editor was interviewed for the story as well. As it turns out, Groff is a member of the "Core Diplomatique" foundation. This is a Panamanian foundation (Registration Documents) set up by Monte Friesner and crooked lawyer Herbert Young. It has nothing to do with the diplomatic service however; its members use it to fraudulently pass themselves off as Panamanian diplomats.
Groff was apparently approached by one of Friesner's Croatian associates, Fahrudin Handanovič, who told him that he could obtain a Panamanian diplomatic passport through his membership. "So I said, why not. And this passport, I tried to use it once, but it was refused," said Groff to the Slovenian reporter.
The entire story, in Slovenian, is here. Your reporter appears in the second video that is available on that page as well.
Meanwhile, we'll be in court again tomorrow for yet another criminal libel case Friesner has brought against us. Panama doesn't care that crooks sell fake diplomatic passports, but our authorities do take offense when these scammers are exposed.
So why is Friesner not in court/jail ?