Timor-Leste parliament questions president over proposed resort’s links to ‘scam’ empire

President José Ramos-Horta acknowledged that Timor-Leste remains vulnerable to the dangers of transnational crime, but said he had not seen any proof that such groups had yet infiltrated the country. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

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).