At a recent National Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention Forum, senior law enforcement and financial intelligence officials from Antigua and Barbuda have announced that formal prosecutions are即将到来 in multiple ongoing cyber-enabled fraud investigations, after authorities successfully identified all key suspects and compiled case files ready for court submission.
Addressing growing public concern over the lack of publicly announced arrests in these high-stakes cases, Assistant Superintendent of Police Kelvin Thompson and Lt. Col. Edward Croft — director of the Financial Intelligence Unit under the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP) — outlined the step-by-step process that has shaped the investigation to date.
Thompson explained that when fraud reports first began rolling in, investigative teams failed to immediately grasp the full scale of the coordinated criminal operation. It was only after analyzing accumulated reports that a clear pattern of illicit activity emerged, prompting authorities to assemble a cross-agency joint task force to tackle the complex scheme.
“Once we identified the pattern, a joint investigative team has been put together,” Thompson stated, noting that cyber fraud investigations are inherently complex, requiring months of rigorous behind-the-scenes work to build a solid, sustainable case.
To date, the investigation has linked the fraudulent schemes to more than 20 confirmed victims, multiple local financial institutions, and nearly 100 individuals who are alleged to have either received illicit funds or benefited directly from fraudulent transactions. The joint task force brings together specialized investigators from the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, the ONDCP, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, uniting diverse expertise to dismantle the criminal network.
Thompson emphasized that investigators are prioritizing thoroughness over speed, choosing to complete all evidence gathering before filing formal charges to avoid repeated requests for court adjournments that would delay the judicial process. “We want to make sure that we have the case together and then we file charges,” he said. While Thompson confirmed that charges are certainly on the horizon, he declined to share a specific public timeline for when they will be filed.
Croft backed up Thompson’s announcement, confirming that all suspected participants in the coordinated fraud schemes have already been positively identified by investigators. “We know who they are,” Croft said in a direct warning to suspects. “We are going to come get you. So just be patient with us. We are working.”
Crucially, Croft clarified that the ONDCP’s investigation extends far beyond the masterminds who organized the fraud schemes. Anyone who knowingly receives, transfers, withdraws, or spends stolen funds derived from cyber fraud will also face legal consequences, he warned, noting that handling fraudulently obtained funds carries the same criminal penalties as orchestrating the original offense.
Authorities have confirmed that a large portion of the cyber-enabled fraud impacting Antigua and Barbuda is linked to transnational organized criminal networks. Rather than focusing exclusively on low-level participants commonly referred to as money mules, Croft said investigators are prioritizing identifying and apprehending the senior leaders who direct and profit from these schemes. “What we are seeing from a strategic point of view, it’s a mechanism, an organised crime group,” Croft explained, adding that dismantling these well-structured networks requires targeted intelligence analysis, close inter-agency cooperation, and careful pre-arrest planning.
In an appeal to local residents, Thompson urged any victim of cyber fraud in Antigua and Barbuda to report incidents to authorities immediately and disclose full details of their experience, rather than holding back information out of embarrassment. “Some people are embarrassed because of the experience and they try to give us limited information,” he said. “Don’t give us half information. Tell us everything.”
Thompson added that victims do not need to collect all supporting evidence before coming forward; basic identifying details such as full name, residential address, and affected bank account number can be submitted initially, with supporting materials such as transaction screenshots, phone numbers linked to the scam, and other evidence provided at a later date. He stressed that prompt reporting is critical to preventing additional losses, citing a recent case in which a second unauthorized withdrawal was processed while the victim was still at their bank reporting the initial fraudulent transaction.
Because the majority of cyber fraud schemes impacting the island nation originate outside Antigua and Barbuda, Croft said the ONDCP maintains active intelligence sharing partnerships with both local financial regulators and international law enforcement counterparts. He cited global data from the Financial Action Task Force showing that 90% of the 156 countries in the organization’s global network have identified cyber-enabled crime as their most common emerging criminal threat, with the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security reporting matching elevated concerns across the Caribbean region.
Alongside pursuing criminal prosecutions, authorities also made clear that recovering stolen funds to compensate affected victims is a core priority of the investigation. “As best as practically possible, we want to ensure that the victims are compensated for the type of losses that they would have incurred,” Croft said.
