"You are an enemy of the State - no white woman can be allowed to own such property!" screamed Senator Asot Michael, Antigua’s former Junior Finance Minister in the face of Mrs Natalia Querard, Managing Director of HMB holdings Limited.

In the land of Antigua & Barbuda, where all is not as it seems, there are striking and remarkable similarities to Alice in Wonderland.

In a culture where gossip is news, where questions are met with indignation instead of answers, and where, by law, the Ministers' definition of "public good" cannot be questioned, facts and fiction are readily and frequently intermingled in the Government's announcements and news releases.

What is Bitcoin? It is a virtual cryptocurrency, which means that it has no substance and is not underwritten by anyone or any asset other than its creator's reputation.

In a dramatic, incredulous twist to the IHI corruption saga, Vere Browne, Antigua & Barbuda’s Police Commissioner, issued the following statement earlier this week.

The expropriation and nationalisation of the Half Moon Bay Resort and other interests of American, Canadian and British nationals by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has been the subject of numerous articles and debates.

Yet again the widespread extent of corruption and malgovernance in Antigua & Barbuda has been highlighted.

According to the CAFT/GAFIC Antigua & Barbuda Ministerial Report dated 23 June 2008 on Mutual Evaluation / Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, the Attorney General is the individual charged with the responsibility for coordinating requests from overseas regulators and enforcement agencies.

A hard-hitting report by the US Department of State has headlined Antigua & Barbuda as a major money laundering jurisdiction

Within international standards of best practise there is broad acceptance that the public interest is only safely served in the building of a country's physical infrastructure, such as roads, ports, waterways, airports, hospitals and schools.

For many decades, Antigua has been ethically and morally bankrupt. This next phase follows naturally, so it is no surprise to international observers that the Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda admit that their country is also financially bankrupt.

Another senior, long-standing international banking brand is abandoning Antigua.

In 2002 Peter Fritsch, a renowned Wall Street Journal reporter, first highlighted the curiosities in Texan Allen Stanford's growing financial empire centered in Antigua and also exposed the expropriation of US-owned private property, known as the Half Moon Bay Resort, by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.

Once a rabid dog tastes blood, it is only a short matter of time before it bites again. The initial victim of expropriation was the flagship Half Moon Bay Resort, located on what the Travel Magazine consistently lists as one of the top four beaches in the world, developed and owned by US investors for over thirty five years.

International banks are quietly leaving the Caribbean sinking Ship of State.

Passports have become a commodity.

For an Island with reported debts of over US $2billion dollars and tourism offering possible salvation, Antigua’s expropriation of Half Moon Bay Resort gives no comfort to prospective foreign investors and the international community.

When Verity (not her real name) retired she had simple dreams of living in the sun, caring for animals and putting something back into society.

According to the old adage, you are judged by the company you keep and your behaviour towards others. Money is no different. Arguably, this explains Antigua & Barbuda’s failure to attract sound foreign direct investment.

According to the website of the Antigua & Barbuda Government High Commission in London, Antigua's attractions for investment include a robust ICT infrastructure and strong investor protection, safety and security.