FBI raids Bank of Saipan

The Oleai branch of the Bank of Saipan along Beach Road. (KIMBERLY ESMORES)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched another raid yesterday, this time at the Oleai branch of Bank of Saipan.

FBI agents swarmed into the Bank of Saipan office along Beach Road yesterday morning, to carry out a search warrant. There was no immediate word on what the FBI was looking for.

The raid was conducted just days after the FBI stormed the Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles last Friday for reasons that have yet to be disclosed to the public.

A Bank of Saipan employee who requested anonymity as he/she was not authorized to speak told Saipan Tribune that the reason the FBI raided the bank was because of an ongoing investigation into the Torres administration’s Building Optimism, Opportunity and Stability Together, or BOOST Program, which the BOS administers. The program, which has awarded over $10 million to over 200 local businesses, has been a heated topic within the CNMI community for weeks, with a joint CNMI legislative committee looking into the program. See related story on front page.

Saipan Tribune tried to speak with John Arroyo, Bank of Saipan president and CEO, as well as BOOST program administrator, at his office yesterday but he refused to speak to the media.

Meanwhile, James Curry, from the FBI’s public affairs office in Honolulu, confirmed the raid but stated he could not give any additional information as the investigation remains ongoing.

“I can confirm an FBI investigation, but because the investigation is ongoing, we can’t share anything additional at this time,” he stated.

According to Saipan Tribune archives, the FBI has conducted multiple raids into various departments in the CNMI in the past three years, with the most recent one conducted at DPS Central office and the BMV offices in Susupe late Friday afternoon. As of press time, there is still no word on what they were looking for or what the raid was all about only that they were there to carry out a search warrant issued for both departments.

At the scene, FBI agents plastered handwritten “closed” signs on all the doors of BMV, closing up shop and putting a stop to all BMV activities for the rest of the day as they conducted their search.

At DPS central office, Saipan Tribune learned that FBI agents were reportedly seen going into administrative offices but were not seen taking anything. They were, however, seen taking photos of documents and others.

Soon after the raid, the CNMI Office of the Governor issued a memorandum stating that BMV director Juana Leon has been designated as acting DPS commissioner until the incoming administration appoints its own.

With the transition to a new administration, all appointees of the incumbent governor must resign from their post, as per standard procedure

However, there is still no official confirmation that DPS Commissioner Robert Guerrero has resigned. It was learned that he remains on personal leave.