In 1961 the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was established. This convention outlined the duties and immunities bestowed upon Diplomats of all UN member nations.

The most important part of this convention was the diplomatic immunity awarded to diplomats in the country they are assigned to - also known as the receiving state. These immunities include among others, immunity from prosecution.

It has become increasingly evident that corrupt governments and organisations are issuing diplomatic status to individuals in return for large sums of money. This is nothing new. It has been reported on many times in the past and completely ignored and dismissed as criminals simply offering forged documents.

After doing some research on the internet, I found there to be a few companies claiming to offer this service, this prompted me to take the matter further. I contacted one of these companies, the “International Diplomatic Credentials Committee (IDCC)” based in the Netherlands posing as a potential client.

I was informed that I could be appointed as a diplomat to my home nation, the United Kingdom. I would therefore be awarded full status by the United Kingdom in the form of an Exequatur issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The IDCC were extremely reluctant to provide me with the names of the countries involved for obvious reasons, however after much negotiation and several re-assurances which even included providing them with proof of available funds in my bank account. They finally agreed to discuss the matter in greater detail and provided me with the names of the countries providing this and the fees involved.

I was told I could choose from two South American nations or an African nation. I decided to choose the South American option; this is when I was offered the choice between the Republic of Guyana (Commonwealth Member) and the Republic of Suriname. Both of which are well respected worldwide.

“In your situation I would recommend you have the position from the Rep.
of Guyana (British Commonwealth member). This South
American country has good relations with all regions, including Canada,
the US and EU.” – Representative of IDCC.

They went on to say about the fees involved…

“The fees for a modest active diplomatic position will be:
30,000 Euro – citizenship will be 7,000 Euro. In total it will be 37,000 Euro.” – Representative of IDCC

The fee for this service is 37,000 Euro; this price includes Guyanese Citizenship which has a fee of 7000 Euro. This fee would buy me the following...

+ Diplomatic Passport
+ Diplomatic Identification Card
+ Letter of Appointment
+ Exequatur (issued by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

Initially I was suspicious that it may be nothing more than a fraudulent service where I would pay and never hear from them again. This was until they agreed to use an Escrow payment service of my choice.

Escrow works by holding the money until the buyer is in receipt of the product and is satisfied with its authenticity and quality, at that time the Escrow Company releases the money to the seller.

This provided me a reasonable level of re-assurance that the service offered was genuine.

In addition to this, the claim that I would have received an Exequatur which is a letter from the receiving state (the UK) welcoming me and giving me permission to carry out my diplomatic duties within the country only served to provide even more re-assurance that this was far from being a scam as I first suspected.

You can imagine the benefits of obtaining this kind of status and immunity if you are a criminal! Although in their defence - I was informed that a criminal records check would be conducted on all applicants including myself…

"Each government runs a full criminal check on each new potential
diplomat." – Representative of IDCC

I personally think this is useless for screening applications. It is not unusual for criminals involved in organised crime to have a clean criminal history.

There were still doubts in my mind about the authenticity of these claims so I decided to contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom.

To my complete surprise, they confirmed that they do suspect there are foreign governments and non governmental organisations offering diplomatic positions to wealthy individuals.

They were of course unable to comment on whether they believe any of these “diplomats” are resident in the UK but they are most definitely aware of the issue.

The world is full of corruption and chaos. International law is supposed to exist to promote peace and international stability. It does not exist to help criminals commit crime. If these services are authentic then something needs to be done about it.

I decided to inform the IDCC that I may be intending to write an article about their services, the meaning of their response is open to speculation…

"I am not aware of your articles so far, but if they do not damage the Guyana as a country and do not damage its citizens in any way, I think it will be beneficial for all parties." – Representative of IDCC

In theory it’s a bargain deal, around £25,000 to become above the law unless you commit a serious crime. You can live a pleasurable life protected behind a barrier of international law and agreements between nations dating back decades.

Of course it’s always open to speculation but even the possibility of the existence of someone holding this status that is not entitled to do so is against everything a democracy is supposed to stand for. This is just another example of a government caring more about financial gain than the welfare of people.